Depardieu confirms his request for Russian passport - Channel One

09:59, 04.01.2013 2 min read

French actor Gerard Depardieu has confirmed his request for Russian citizenship, Channel One said.

"Yes, I filed a passport application and I am pleased that it was accepted. I love your country, Russia - its people, its history, its writers," the actor said in an open letter.

"I love your culture, your intelligence," he said, adding it was good to live in Russia and he would prefer the countryside to Moscow, a megalopolis too big for him. Depardieu said he knew some wonderful places in Russia.

He acknowledged his love for President Vladimir Putin, vowed to learn the Russian language and described Russia as "a great democracy."

The actor said that he had spoken to French President Francois Hollande and told him his love for Putin was mutual and Russia was "a great democracy, and not a country where the prime minister calls one of its citizens shabby".

"Long live Russia," the actor wrote in the end of his letter like a genuine Russian patriot.

Depardieu had recently announced he would give up his French passport after the government had decided to impose 75% super-tax on annual earnings above one million euros.

Putin signed the decree granting Russian citizenship to Depardieu on Thursday.