Vladimir Komarov always cherished his signed photo of French actress Brigitte Bardot, but has cashed it in to pay for an operation, the popular Russian daily Tvoi Den reported Wednesday.

The 50-year-old miner from the Ural region wrote a love letter to the blonde star of "And God Created Woman" when he was a boy, receiving an autographed picture from Bardot in return.

Suffering from a lung disease, Komarov put his prized possession up for sale to pay for the surgery, getting 61,000 rubles (around 1,400 euros, 2,100 dollars) in return.

- Without this operation I will die. I would never have wanted to sell this photograph, but I have no other option - explained the miner, who is pictured in the Russian newspaper holding the famous photo in his hand.