Russian cellist and conductor Rostropovich dies

By Dmitry Solovyov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, who became an international symbol of the fight for artistic freedom under Soviet rule, died on Friday aged 80.

President Vladimir Putin, who last month feted the maestro when he made a frail appearance at his 80th birthday celebration in the Kremlin, called Rostropovich's death a "huge loss".

"I want to tell (his) relatives and loved ones, 'Please accept my deepest condolences. This is a huge loss for Russian culture'," Russian agencies quoted Putin as saying.

Writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, sheltered by Rostropovich during his tussles with Soviet authorities in the 1970s, said the musician's passing was a "bitter blow".

"They tried to forcefully separate him from (his culture) by revoking his citizenship 30 years ago," said Solzhenitsyn, who spent 20 years of forced exile in the West. "I am witness to how painful that was for him.

"Farewell my beloved friend," he said.

The cellist's death was announced four days after that of his friend, former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, whom Rostropovich joined on the barricades to resist a coup by Soviet hardliners in 1991.

Russian news agencies quoted a source close to the musician as saying that Rostropovich had died in a Moscow hospital after a long illness.

A funeral service will take place in the Christ the Savior Cathedral on Sunday and he will be buried in Moscow's Novodevichye cemetery, where Yeltsin was laid to rest on Wednesday with full state honors.

At his birthday appearance, Rostropovich stood up unsteadily and delivered a brief speech in a faltering voice.

"I'm the happiest man," he said. "My family, friends and colleagues are here with me on this day."

It was his first public appearance since he was admitted in February to a Moscow hospital. At the time, his secretary said his condition was not life-threatening.

CELLO TO CIVIL RIGHTS

Rostropovich was one of Russia's best-loved cultural figures and considered among the world's greatest cellists. He also earned a reputation internationally as a champion of civil rights during Soviet rule.

While he was out of the country in 1978, the Kremlin stripped him of his citizenship for what state newspapers labeled "unpatriotic activity."