Legendary Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko dies in U.S. aged 84 - friend

Celebrated Soviet and Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, who died in the US on Saturday aged 84, became a legend whose vibrant talent will be long remembered in Russia, Natalia Solzhenitsyn, public and literary figure and widow of Russian novelist and historian Alexander Solzhenitsyn, told the Rossya’24 TV channel.

"Yevtushenko was a legend both in his very early years and in his mature years, he lived basing on his own principle: a poet in Russia is more than a poet," Natalia Solzhenitsyn said.

"And he was truly more than a poet since he was a citizen with a clearly defined civil position. I think he will be long remembered as he was a lively person responding to injustice and receptive to major events."

Earlier on April 1, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, a celebrated Soviet and Russian poet, died in the United States.

Since March 12, he had been undergoing treatment in a hospital of the city of Tulsa (Oklahoma).

The poet received state awards both in the Soviet Union and later in Russia.

In 1963, Yevtushenko was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Yevtushenko wrote over 150 books that have been translated into many languages.