Depardieu handed Russian passport, meets Vladimir Putin

The Kremlin has confirmed with news agency AFP that French actor Gerard Depardieu has received his Russian passport and also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

After a new millionaires' tax introduced by the French government, the French actor chose to leave France to avoid having to pay it. According to AFP, Depardieu and Putin met briefly at Putin's residence in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi.

AFP reports that a spokesperson for Putin declined to give further details, except to say that Putin did not personally hand over the passport to Depardieu and that it had been a short meeting.

But Depardieu may soon be joined another French actress, screen sex symbol of the 1960s Brigitte Bardot, who has threatened to "flee a country that has become nothing but an animal graveyard."

Because Bardot, a longtime campaigner for animal rights, is protesting against the killing of two elephants in Lyon zoo, which are set to be put down because they have tuberculosis.

In a statement, Bardot said that if the elephants are not saved she has "taken the decision to request Russian nationality to flee a country that has become nothing but an animal graveyard."