“Seventeen Moments of Spring,” where Tikhonov played his arguably most famous and iconic role, always gave me the warm fuzzies with its ending. It talked about how this Soviet spy, who doesn’t yet know that the war will be ending later in the year, in May, is going to Berlin to continue with his work. It emphasizes the importance of doing your job, regardless of your delicate fee-fees.
Anyway, besides all that, Tikhonov was simply a great actor.
Natalia A. 
Oh, he died? So sad. I remember him! Of course….12 mngnoveniy vesni….
Have you ever seen him in “Dozhivem Do ponedel’nika” or in “Voina I Mir”? I have a special relationship to him as Schtirlitz, as I basically grew up watching “17 moments” as often as “Ironia Sud’by”, but in some of his other roles he gave off such a mixture of sadness and brilliance that he was impossible not to fall in love with…
He was excellent, EXCELLENT in “Voina i Mir.”
Too bad he treated Nonna Mordyukova like shit in real life…