Depardieu has a Chechnyan fling (From The Northern Echo)
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Depardieu has a Chechnyan fling
10:26am Monday 25th February 2013 in Showbiz © Press Association 2013
Gerard Depardieu has been registered as a resident of the city of Saransk
French actor Gerard Depardieu has continued his dalliance with Russia by hitting the dance floor in the Republic of Chechnya.
The Green Card star, who has been at the centre of a heated debate over tax exiles in France, received a Russian passport from president Vladimir Putin in January. At the weekend he officially became resident of Saransk, a city of 300,000 about 400 miles east of Moscow.
Depardieu flew to Chechnya's capital Grozny and was treated to a lavish dinner by Ramzan Kadyrov, who has been ruling Chechnya with an iron fist since 2004.
The two men joined each other for the region's highlander dance, known as lezginka.
Kremlin-backed Mr Kadyrov is a warlord's son who has been accused of grave rights abuses.
