The President congratulated Mr Kalyagin on his birthday and gave him a rare edition of Nikolai Gogol’s works.
Mr Kalyagin thanked Mr Putin for helping to organise the move to Moscow of director Robert Sturua, who is now working at Et Cetera Theatre, and invited the President to come and watch his play.
Earlier, Mr Putin sent Mr Kalyagin a telegram of congratulations, in which he said, in particular:
“Your multifaceted talent has let you play dozens of different memorable roles on the stage and the cinema screen, become a wonderful teacher, and establish the popular Et Cetera Theatre, where you successfully realise your original ideas as a director.
Your boundless creative energy has found embodiment in public work too. As head of the Russian Theatre Union you do a lot to preserve and develop our cultural traditions and support talented young people.”