Cellist, Human Rights Crusader Mstislav Rostropovich Dies at Age 80

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MOSCOW -- Mstislav Rostropovich, the ebullient master cellist who fought for the rights of Soviet-era dissidents and later triumphantly played Bach suites below the crumbling Berlin Wall, died Friday. He was 80.

Rostropovich died in a Moscow cancer hospital, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. Rostropovich's spokeswoman, Natalia Dollezhal, confirmed to The Associated Press that he had died but she did not provide other details.

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Cellist, Human Rights Crusader Mstislav Rostropovich Dies at Age 80

Rostropovich, who resided in Paris after self-imposed exile, suffered from intestinal cancer.

"The passing of Mstislav Rostropovich is a bitter blow to our culture," said the author Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who was sheltered by Rostropovich during the writer's bitter fight against Soviet authorities in the 1970s.

"He gave Russian culture worldwide fame. Farewell, beloved friend," Solzhenitsyn said, accor...

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