On January 5, Vladimir Putin gave a Russian passport French actor Gerard Depardieu. The President offered Russian nationality to Depardieu, who is said to admire Putin, after the movie star announced that he wanted to leave France to escape a tax deemed "greedy".

The next day, Depardieu visited Saransk, the capital of the Russian republic of Mordovia, which lies to the east of Moscow. The governor of Mordovia gave him a home, as well as the position of Minister of Culture.