‘Crazy excesses’ in Ukraine Even Depardieu is fed up with Putin
03/31/2022 22:04
French actor Depardieu has admired Russian President Putin for years. This is proven by testimonials and photos that the movie star will publish in February. But now Depardieu is fed up – he publicly condemns Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
French actor Gérard Depardieu attested to the “crazy and unacceptable excesses” of Russian head of state Vladimir Putin in view of his war in Ukraine. The Russian population “is not responsible” for the behavior of the Kremlin chief, Depardieu stressed in a statement. All proceeds from his three performances planned for early April at the Paris Théâtre des Champs-Elysées “will benefit the Ukrainian victims”.
“He always had a unique affection for the Russian people,” Depardieu said. He referred to great Russian writers and composers such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Lev Tolstoy, Nikolai Gogol, Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich.
Depardieu received Russian citizenship in 2013. In the past, he has repeatedly spoken positively about Putin. He described Russia as a “great democracy” and compared the Russian president to former Pope John Paul II, among others.
“I am against this civil war”
In the summer of 2015, Ukraine imposed a five-year entry ban on Depardieu, who has held Russian citizenship since 2013. A spokeswoman for the National Security Service confirmed this at the time. “I love Russia and Ukraine, which are part of Russia,” Depardieu said earlier, according to media reports. The actor apparently didn’t deny this at the time.
Even in mid-February, when Russia had already gathered tens of thousands of soldiers near the Ukrainian border, the actor posted a photo of himself with Putin on Instagram with the caption “friendship”. In early March, Depardieu called for a ceasefire in Ukraine. “Russia and Ukraine have always been sister countries. I am against this fratricidal war,” he said at the time.