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

The Little Humpbacked Horse

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
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...
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.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
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.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
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.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

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