The Doppelganger Soldier: How One Russian Man’s Striking Resemblance to Leonardo DiCaprio Helped Fuel a War Effort

The Doppelganger Soldier: How One Russian Man’s Striking Resemblance to Leonardo DiCaprio Helped Fuel a War Effort

Burtsev has been known in Russia as a DiCaprio impersonator for more than ten years. He appeared in numerous promotional clips, was written about by newspapers, and even had his own TV show called “Romance with DiCaprio”.

But bad times for the career of a professional double came when the coronavirus pandemic broke out. Burtsev himself did not get sick, but the lockdowns “chained” him to the sofa at home. Lack of exercise and overeating caused his belly to grow while his cash reserves dwindled.

“The problems started in April 2020, and people have already forgotten about me,” complained Burcev, who once worked in the IT industry. He had to leave this job because his boss was not satisfied with his constant requests for time off to focus on photography and shooting commercials.

When the pandemic ended, Burcev was unable to jump on the earlier wave of advertising contracts and fame due to obesity. He was no longer convincing as DiCaprio for the agencies.

Burcev thus had to work in occasional jobs in supermarkets, from which he had, however, several times less income than as a star impersonator. He lived with his parents and a cat in a two-room municipal flat in Podolsk, an industrial city south of Moscow.

“I tried to quit for a long time, but I couldn’t. Now I’ve made up my mind. I hope I can lose weight so that next year she will write about me again and inform the media,” said Burtsev, who signed up for the army and posted photos of himself in uniform and with a gun on social media.

He also improved his financial situation, because he received according to the newspaper for signing the contract Mirror converted to 483,000 CZK, and after completing the training, he will be entitled to almost 50,000 CZK per month – that is, as long as he remains alive at the front. In the event of his death, his family would be entitled to nearly three million CZK.

“I signed the contract on the nineteenth of September. It was a difficult decision, I thought about it for several months,” Burcev confirmed his decision to the newspaper Gazeta. “I cannot say now where I am or what I am doing,” he added.

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The war in Ukraine

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