Eduard Uspensky, Russian author, poet, and playwright
Eduard Nikolayevich Uspensky (Russian: Эдуард Николаевич Успенский; 22 December 1937 – 14 August 2018) was a Russian children's writer and poet, author of over 70 books, as well as a playwright, screenwriter and TV presenter. His works have been translated into 25 languages and spawned around 60 cartoon adaptations. Among the characters he created are Cheburashka and Crocodile Gena, Uncle Fyodor and Kolobki brothers. He was awarded IV Class Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" in 1997.