We discuss the problem of consistent description of higher spin massive fields coupled to external gravity. As an example we consider massive field of spin 2 in arbitrary gravitational field. Consistency requires the theory to have the same number of degrees of freedom as in flat spacetime and to describe causal propagation. By careful analysis of lagrangian structure of the theory and its constraints we show that there exist at least two possibilities of achieving consistency. The first possibility is provided by a lagrangian on specific manifolds such as static or Einstein spacetimes. The second possibility is realized in arbitrary curved spacetime by a lagrangian representing an infinite series in curvature. In the framework of string theory we derive equations of motion for background massive spin 2 field coupled to gravity from the requirement of quantum Weyl invariance. These equations appear to be a particular case of the general consistent equations obtained from the field theory point of view.
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