Extracts from Maurice Druon's exclusive interview to Izvestia's Paris correspondent Yuri Kovalenko.
Q.: Why are you so sympathetic towards Russia?
A.: It has to do with my past. Some of my family were born in Orenburg. I have always thought and still think that peace and prosperity in Europe depend greatly on Russia and France. When these two countries are in harmony, there is calm on the Old Continent.
Q.: You once compared Vladimir Putin to Sisyphus.
A: To be Sisyphus is the destiny of all major statesmen. Sometimes they do manage to roll the stone to the top of the mountain. Sometimes they have to be stronger than Sisyphus. And every leader has to carry not one stone, but several.
Q.: Which is the heaviest stone for Putin?
A.: I think the hardest task is to bring about a change of the mentality in his own country. For many centuries Russians lived under an imperialist monarchy, and for 70 years under a communist dictatorship and then - as is the case after the collapse of any dictatorship - in a state of anarchy. Vladimir Putin, whom I like very much and consider a wonderful politician, has already achieved a great deal. But he has a hard mission ahead.
Q.: What is the foundation of your friendship with him?
A.: We are both horsemen; we like horses. A horseman in his saddle towers over other people and sees further. I have to admit that Vladimir Putin is not very much liked outside Russia. This is because Russia still frightens people. Those who are afraid of it are wrong, of course. A strong Russia is necessary for balance in the world. Moscow should not vacillate between Europe and Asia. That is a mistake.
Q.: Do you consider Russia to be a democratic country?
A.: Democracy cannot be the same in the French Republic, the Swiss Canton of Vaud, and the Russian Federation. A lot depends on the size of the country, its geography, and the latent nature inherited from its past. There are colossal differences even between the North and South of Russia. He who does not understand that democracy is different in different places is making a mistake.
Q.: Whom would you name as the five greatest writers in the world?
A.: Tolstoy, Tacitus, Montesquieu and... again Tolstoy and Tacitus.
Q.: There are no more writers who are prophets or arbiters of people's thoughts...
A.: Even Tolstoy was a poor prophet. And genuine literature has still preserved a social role. Nevertheless, we are in transition from the civilisation of the word to a civilisation of the image, the picture. As a result, language is losing its significance. That is a great misfortune because language stimulates thought. People today think far less than before. That is why people write less well.
Q.: Is great literature going to be marginalised?
A.: There will always be madmen. Some of them will write, and others will read. Over time books will become part of a very narrow, elitist culture.
Q.: Who are your favourite historic figures?
A.: Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the French King Philip IV the Fair and Russian Emperor Peter I.
Q.: What is the secret of your longevity?
A.: The main thing is to always do something, always strive and invent new projects. Until the very moment when the Lord tells you: "That's it".
Yuri Kovalenko