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Gerard Depardieu meets Putin, receives Russian passport
French actor Gerard Depardieu has met President Vladimir Putin and has been handed his new Russian passport.The actor had announced he was seeking Russian citizenship after the French government criticised his decision to move abroad to avoid higher taxes. Mr Depardieu met Mr Putin in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi. Mr Depardieu was then given his new passport, although the president's spokesman said Mr Putin did not hand it over personally. Mr Depardieu and Mr Putin shook hands and hugged each other at the meeting in Sochi. Earlier this week, Mr Putin signed the decree granting Russian citizenship to Mr Depardieu. The actor responded by writing an open letter saying: "I love your country, Russia - its people, its history, its writers. I love your culture, your intelligence." Mr Depardieu went on to describe Russia as "a great democracy, and not a country where the prime minister calls one of its citizens shabby". Posted by: tipper 2013-01-06 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=359497 |