Russian animator Leonid Shvartsman dies at 101

Leonid Shvartsman, a legendary Soviet animator, has died at the age of 101, Kommersant cites Soyuzmultfilm, Russia’s oldest animation studio.

Shvartsman worked on the Soviet Union’s biggest animated films, including Gena the Crocodile, Cheburashka, Shapoklyak, 38 Parrots, The Snow Queen and The Scarlet Flower.

Shvartsman was born in Minsk in 1920 and moved to Saint Petersburg as a teenager. He has worked at Soyuzmultfilm since 1948 and, most notably, took part in creating the visual representation of Cheburashka, one of the most beloved cartoon characters for Soviet children. Shvartsman won a number of accolades throughout his career, including the Russian Presidential Award for Art in 2017.