Eldar Ryazanov, beloved Russian filmmaker, dies

Eldar Ryazanov, one of the most popular Soviet-era film directors whose comedies captured sometimes quirky aspects of life in the Soviet Union, died on Monday aged 88, family and colleagues said.

Arguably Russia's favorite director, millions know his iconic films from the 1960s and 1970s off by heart.

"My grandfather has passed away," Ryazanov's grandson Dmitry Troyanovsky wrote on Facebook.