Leading Russian animator whose witty films verged on the surrealIn the face of Walt Disney's worldwide dominance throughout most of the 20th century, European animators forged their own style and content. Fyodor Khitruk, who has died aged 95, was able to find new possibilities for animation in the Soviet Union, but only after the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953 and Nikita Khrushchev's subsequent speech attacking Stalinism.