February 09, 2023

Gérard Depardieu Bids Adieu


Gérard Depardieu Bids Adieu
Gérard Depardieu's post calling the war in Ukraine "fratricidal." Gérard Depardieu, Instagram.

In 2013, French actor Gérard Depardieu was granted Russian citizenship so that he could escape France's high taxes. Despite repeatedly praising Putin over the years, in April 2022, in an Instagram post, Depardieu called Russia's War in Ukraine "fratricidal."

Yet in a recent interview with the German newspaper Augsburger Allgemeine, the actor changed his tune.

After Depardieu's 2022 criticism, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: "I'd suggest that Depardieu most likely does not fully understand what is happening (...) If necessary, we will be ready to tell him about this and explain so that he understands better."

In his February 4, 2023, interview with the German paper (here in Russian), Depardieu said that he doesn't mix acting with politics and adamantly refused to discuss the invasion, and that "no one can say anything actually intelligent" about the war.

"I am, as before, Russian," Depardieu said. "I love Russian culture. If I love a country, it is always for its culture."

Depardieu currently resides in Europe, but his spokesperson said in May 2022 that the actor would return to Russia at some point in the future. Meanwhile, in response to Depardieu's less-than-patriotic sentiments,State Duma Representative Sultan Khamzaev has threatened to confiscate the actor's properties in Saransk and Grozny and give them to orphans.

 

You Might Also Like

Keep Your Taxes to Yourself
  • January 29, 2023

Keep Your Taxes to Yourself

The Russian parliament passed a bill that allows legislators to not disclose their tax returns to the public.  
The Russian Conundrum
  • January 01, 1999

The Russian Conundrum

An essay on what it takes to understand the conundrum that is Russia.
It Takes Guts
  • November 01, 2012

It Takes Guts

A recent letter that the editors of Russian Life received from one of its respected readers was directed at Mikhail Ivanov and one of his “Survival Russian” columns. We felt it deserved a longer response than space in the magazine allowed.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955