Russian town in Siberia makes DiCaprio an ersatz Oscar
Posted February 9, 2016 9:29 am.
Last Updated February 9, 2016 10:20 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MOSCOW – Residents of a town in Russia’s Far East have been donating their gold and silver for something near and dear to their hearts: Leonardo DiCaprio.
More than 100 DiCaprio fans in the Siberian town of Yakutia have donated jewelry and precious metals to make a statue — based on an Academy Award — for the film star who is nominated as best actor for his role in The Revenant.
Sardana Savvina, a member of the Oscar to Leo! initiative, said the group is hopeful that DiCaprio will walk away with two awards this year: a statue from Yakutia and a bona fide Oscar.
DiCaprio, whose grandmother was Russian, is extremely popular in the country and famously met with Vladimir Putin in 2010 to discuss tiger conservation in Russia’s eastern regions.