Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin (Russian: Юрий Владимирович Никулин; 18 December 1921 – 21 August 1997) was a well-known Russian clown and actor who played in many popular films.

Early Life
He first took up clowning in 1944 when a political officer in his battalion, impressed by his repertoire of jokes, ordered him to organise entertainment for the division, which he did with resounding success.
As mentioned, Nikulin was succeeded in his office at the Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard by his son. There is a bronze monument to him in front of the circus, which now bears his name. He is buried in Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.