Mikhalkov, whose "Burnt by the Sun" won the 1995 Oscar for best foreign film, has asked the Culture Ministry to return five icons, dating from the 16th to the 18th century, the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda said.
The icons are in storage at the State Art Museum in the northern city of Rybinsk. Mikhalkov's family owned a country estate near Rybinsk, and their property was confiscated by the Bolsheviks.
Russian law bars restitution of museum property to individuals unless the museum is compensated with a more valuable exhibit.
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