A woman looks at a computer screen displaying a webpage of Russian TV station Pervyi Kanal internet site in Moscow on January 4, 2013 that shows a picture of French actor Gerard Depardieu and a letter by the actor translated into Russian. Depardieu confirmed yesterday that he had applied for a Russian passport and said he was 'pleased' to have been granted citizenship by President Vladimir Putin. Yes, I filed a passport application and I am pleased that it was accepted. I love your country, Russia -- its people, its history, its writers,' he said in an open letter broadcast on Russian TV station Pervyi Kanal, following a highly publicised row with French authorities over their proposal to increase the tax rate for millionaires to 75 percent. AFP PHOTO / YURI KADOBNOV
{"Image ImageDescription": "A woman looks at a computer screen displaying a webpage of Russian TV station Pervyi Kanal internet site in Moscow on January 4, 2013 that shows a picture of French actor Gerard Depardieu and a letter by the actor translated into Russian. Depardieu confirmed yesterday that he had applied for a Russian passport and said he was \"pleased\" to have been granted citizenship by President Vladimir Putin. Yes, I filed a passport application and I am pleased that it was accepted. I love your country, Russia -- its people, its history, its writers,\" he said in an open letter broadcast on Russian TV station Pervyi Kanal, following a highly publicised row with French authorities over their proposal to increase the tax rate for millionaires to 75 percent. AFP PHOTO / YURI KADOBNOV        (Photo credit should read YURI KADOBNOV/AFP via Getty Images)", "Image Copyright": "2013 AFP"}