Yuri Norstein

Yuri Borisovich Norstein (Russian: Юрий Борисович Норштейн; born 15 September 1941) is a Russian animator best known for his animated shorts Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales made in collaboration with his wife, Francheska Yarbusova. Since 1981, he has been working on a feature film called The Overcoat, based on the short story by Nikolai Gogol of the same name. According to The Washington Post, "he is considered by many to be not just the best animator of his era, but the best of all time".

Yuri Norstein was born to a Jewish family in the village of Andreyevka (in present-day Pachelmsky District, Penza Oblast) during his parents' World War II evacuation. He grew up in the Maryina Roshcha District of Moscow. After studying at an art school, Norstein initially found work at a furniture factory. Then he finished a two-year animation course and found employment at studio Soyuzmultfilm in 1961. The first film that he participated in as an animator was Who Said "Meow"? (1962).

After working as an animation artist in some fifty films, Norstein got the chance to direct his own. In 1968, he debuted with 25th October, the First Day, sharing directorial credit with Arkadiy Tyurin. The film used the artwork of 1920s-era Soviet artists Nathan Altman and Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin.