Ermolieff's group where he worked at various French- and German-based film studios. He returned to Russia in 1923. The following year he produced Aelita based on Alexei Tolstoy's novel. It was one of the first science fiction movies to depict a space flight and an alien society. His next film The Tailor from Torzhok was released to a great success and established him as one of the leading comedy directors. He discovered many talents, such as Igor Ilyinsky, Mikhail Zharov, Anatoli Ktorov, Vera Maretskaya, Yuliya Solntseva, Georgy Millyar, Serafima Birman, Nikolai Batalov and Mikhail Klimov. One of the most popular Russian fairy tale directors Alexander Rou also started as Protazanov's assistant. In 1928 he directed The White Eagle that featured Vsevolod Meyerhold and Vasili Kachalov in the leading roles — one of their rare appearances on the big screen. His last acclaimed feature was a screen version of Alexander Ostrovsky's play Without Dowry in 1937. The cast featured many celebrated actors from the Maly Theatre. During the Great Patriotic War he was evacuated to Tashkent along with some other members of Mosfilm and Lenfilm. Around the same time his health started declining; on his way to Tashkent he suffered a heart-attack. He managed to produce only one more movie — Nasreddin in Bukhara (1943) - itself set in Uzbekistan. His only son Georgy was killed in one of the final battles, which also affected Protazanov. He spent his last days working on the adaptation of Alexander Ostrovsky's comedy play Wolves and Sheep. Among his other plans were film adaptations of War and Peace and Oliver Twist. Protazanov died on 8 August 1945 and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery. He was survived by his wife Frida and his elder sisters - Lidia Aristova, Valentina Protazanova and Nina Anjaparidze. Tribute to Yakov Protazanov In 2014, The Silent Film Festival in Pordenone, Italy - "RUSSIAN LAUGHS", the silent comedies of Yakov Protazanov, the exhibition curated by Peter Bagrov and Natalia Noussinova, the translation of the Italian-language film has been entrusted by Vladislav Shabalin... Selected filmography Departure of a Grand Old Man (1912) The Queen of Spades (1916) Satan Triumphant (1917) Father Sergius (1918) The Pilgrimage of Love (1923) Aelita (1924) The Tailor from Torzhok (1925) His Call (1925) The Case of the Three Million (1926) Man from the Restaurant (1927) The Forty-first (1927) Don Diego and Pelagia (1928) The White Eagle (1928)