Irene de Dreier left Russia when she was just five years old. Since then she has had an eventful life: travelling the world, placing second in a 1936 beauty contest, and being married three times.
But for the past 95 years Irene has been living in exile. Her father, Vladimir von Dreier, was an imperial officer who fought for the White Army against the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War.
After fleeing to Crimea, her family eventually settled in Paris where the former General von Drier opened a wine shop, but Irene always dreamed of returning to her homeland.
In recent weeks, de Dreier has appealed directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin for her citizenship to be reinstated.
"I want to meet the creator not as a foreigner but as a real citizen of Russia, as a Russian in my heart and soul," the 99-year-old explained in a video. She turns 100 on December 15.
Speaking in both Russian and English, de Dreier said she had always felt Russian, but she has not had anyone to speak the language with since the death of her mother.
Her son Thomas said acquiring Russian citizenship has been a long-held dream of his mother's.
"She appealed to the fairness and nobleness of the Russian president and asked him to have the benevolence to issue her, an elderly lady from the Russian nobility, a passport and thus return her name to her homeland," he told Interfax news agency.
A decree published on the Russian government website indicates President Putin has approved de Dreier’s request.
"In accordance with Article 89(a) of the Russian Constitution I hereby decree that the application for Russian Federation citizenship by von Dreyer, Irene, born in Moscow on December 15, 1915, be granted," the decree said.
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