Celebrated Russian film director Eldar Ryazanov has been discharged from a hospital where he had spent two months after suffering a suspected stroke, news reports said.
Ryazanov, 87, feels better but doctors will continue to monitor his health on an outpatient basis, the Interfax news agency reported Wednesday, citing an unidentified hospital employee and another person close to the director's family.
An unidentified spokesperson at Moscow's Eldar film club has confirmed that Ryazanov has been discharged the hospital, the TASS news agency reported.
Ryazanov was hospitalized in Moscow's Burdenko neurosurgery hospital on Nov. 24. He was diagnosed with an "acute disorder of cerebral circulation" and later with pneumonia, Interfax reported.
Ryazanov is one of Russia's best-known film directors, famed for his comedies that combine sparkling wit with subtle irony and piercing social observations.
Many of his films — including those made decades ago in the Soviet era — remain tremendously popular in Russia, such as New Year comedy "The Irony of Fate," crime movie "The Incredible Adventures of Italians in Russia," and the ironic "Garazh."
Ryazanov's first major film, musical comedy "Carnival Night" became a top box office hit in the Soviet Union when it was released in 1956.