Gaidai remains most famous for the outstanding string of comedies he directed between 1961 and 1975, when nine of the ten films he made became Russian classics, selling between 20 and 76 million film tickets each, and becoming box office champions for several years in a row. He is less known outside of the former Soviet Union, due to the specific nature of his comedies, intrinsically tied to Soviet culture and lifestyle – unlike the motives of the characters of Kramer's "Mad World" being easily understood by the Russian public, living in the highly materialistic world of late Soviet Union. Gaidai's international recognition included a nomination for best short film at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival for "Dog Barbos and Unusual Cross". and the Grand Prix Wawel Silver Dragon at the Kraków Film Festival (Poland) in 1965 for the novel "Déjà vu" in the film "Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures".