Nikolai Kirillovich Litvinov
Russian 1930 -

Born in Moscow in 1930, Nikolai Kirillovich Litvinov developed interest in art as a young child. Upon finishing secondary school, he was admitted into the Geographical Faculty of Moscow State University in 1948. He devoted all his leisure time to drawing, and intent on pursuing a career in art, left the university and entered the Black-and-White Art department of the Moscow Institute of Printing Industry. There he gained experience in book illustration, graduating from the institute with honors.

Since the 1950s, Litvinov has concentrated his talents in poster art. His spectacular images have received numerous awards in Russia and in Europe. Stamp design has also become an important specialty of this skillful artist. Litvinov has created stamps devoted to a variety of topics including environmental protection and ecology. To honor the 1976 Moscow Olympics, Litvinov -- and fellow Russian artist Ivan Sushchenko -- designed a spectacular series of stamps representing all Olympic sports.