Vladimir Putin honours Steven Seagal: The action star’s long love affair with Russia

Russian president Vladimir Putin has bestowed a top state honour on Hollywood actor Steven Seagal. Putin gave Seagal the Order of Friendship – an award bestowed on those that have bettered international relations – for the actor’s ‘humanitarian and cultural’ work. The decree published on Russia’s website mentioned Seagal’s work as a special representative of Russia’s foreign ministry for humanitarian ties with the United States and Japan. Former secretary of state Rex Tillerson and FIFA president Gianni Infantino have also received this award, according to NDTV. Let’s take a closer look at the 70-year-old action star’s long history with Russia: Seagal, who holds dual US and Russia citizenship, has been an unabashed supporter of Putin for over a decade. According to Business Insider, the actor’s fascination with Russia began on a 2012 visit when he watched an MMA bout with Putin.

The next year, Seagal gushed about his fondness for Russia and Putin.

The Guardian quoted Seagal as saying, “I’m Russian, I love Russia, I love Russian people, and I love your president. I really like that he does so much to support martial arts in Russia.” In January 2014 Seagal doubled down on his earlier sentiment in an interview with Republican Mike Huckabee, according to RFERL. “They are a very powerful country with spectacular natural resources and a wonderful leadership,” Seagal said ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics. “And, I believe that they are our friends and I think one of the only ways we are going to survive without getting swallowed by other superpowers or adversely affected is to be best friends with Russia. I think they should be our great allies.” Huckabee in the interview called Seagal “the unofficial ambassador who’s developed a friendly relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, something our president has not been able to do.” In March 2014, after Putin invaded Crimea, Seagal came to Putin’s defence in an interview. According to Moscow Times, Seagal, speaking to state-run newspaper Rossiskaya Gazeta described Putin’s “desire to protect the Russian-speaking people of Crimea, his assets, and the Russian Black Sea military base in Sevastopol” as “very reasonable.” Seagal further slammed the US’ policy on Ukraine as ‘idiotic’ and claimed the media was in the tank for then president Barack Obama. Seagal also called Putin “one of the great living world leaders” and added that he “would like to consider him as a brother.” Seagal in the interview also said it was possible that he would one day become a citizen of Russia. In August 2014, Seagal held a concert in Crimea surrounded by fans waving Russian flags. Seagal and his band took to a stage in Sevastopol flanked by the flag of pro-Russian separatists. Russia’s RIA-Novosti news agency quoted Seagal as saying he’d undertaken this trip as “music unites people”. In November 2016, Seagal got his wish when Putin awarded the action star Russian citizenship through a presidential decree and handed him a passport. Putin, hosting Seagal at the Kremlin, at the time described it as a sign of a thaw in relations with the United States. [caption id=“attachment_12185742” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Russian president Vladimir Putin. AFP[/caption] The ceremony, shown on Russian state television, saw Putin tell Seagal he hoped this was “also a sign of a gradual normalisation of the relations between the countries.”

Russia’s TASS news agency quoted Seagal as saying that the two countries ought to be “best friends and allies.”

“Despite the unfortunate propaganda going on I remain fully committed to work tirelessly towards this end and I am tremendously grateful for this opportunity," Segal was quoted as saying. Seagal added that his father’s side of the family is mainly from Vladivostok and he has friends and relatives across former Soviet Union states. “I have a huge respect and affection for Russia. As well as my own country,” Seagal was quoted as saying. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Seagal had pressed for citizenship. “He had been really persistent for a long time and been asking to grant him citizenship, he is actually renown for his quite warm feelings toward our country,” Peskov was quoted as saying by Sputnik. “He never made a secret out of it, at the same time he is quite famous, as you know, actor.” Celebrities such as boxer Roy Jones Jr and Gérard Depardieu have been granted Russian citizenship in recent years. According to the BBC, Seagal was in 2018 appointed special envoy to the United States and Japan. Russia’s foreign ministry at the time likened the post to that of a United Nations’ goodwill ambassador and said Seagal would look to improve US-Russia relations “in the humanitarian sphere”. “We appreciate Mr. Seagal’s willingness to use his experience and authority for promotion of the Russia-US public, cultural, and humanitarian links as well as for building a more positive atmosphere in bilateral affairs,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. In 2021, Seagal joined pro-Kremlin party Just Russia, as per DW. Seagal at the time said he wanted to punish people that hurt the environment. “Without being able to arrest people, when we just fine them, they are probably making more money off the production of the things that are defiling the environment,” he said. Seagal at the event took pictures with Russian writer Zakhar Prilepin. Preplin, one of the leaders of Just Russia, had joined the pro-Russian separatists taking on the Ukraine government, as per DW. In March 2022, Seagal in an interview with Fox Digital echoed the Kremlin line on Ukraine. “I look at both as one family and really believe it is an outside entity spending huge sums of money on propaganda to provoke the two countries to be at odds with each other,” he said. “My prayers are that both countries will come to a positive, peaceful resolution where we can live and thrive together in peace,” Seagal added. In April 2022, Seagal at his 70th birthday celebration in Moscow alongside Putin’s allies called those present in the room “my family and my friends”. “I love all of you and we stand together, through thick and through thin,” he was quoted as saying by The Independent. In August 2022, Seagal visited the Russian-held Ukrainian town of Olenivka where dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were reportedly killed in an attack for which Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other. According to Business Insider, Seagal echoed the Kremlin claim that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was bombing his own troops. “If you look at the structure from the outside and the inside, it sure looks like a rocket or a missile to me,” Seagal said as per Sky News. “If you look at the beds and all of the stuff like that, this is certainly not a bomb. Not to mention that the Russian government now does have a lot of artefacts from the HIMARS.” Seagal on the trip also met Russian-backed separatist leader Denis Pushilin. In October 2022, Seagal on Putin’s birthday yet again hailed him as a great leader. “Today is President Putin’s birthday. I just think that we are now living in very, very trying times. He is one of the greatest world leaders and one the greatest presidents in the world,” he said. “And I am really hoping and praying that he gets the support and the love and the respect that he needs. And that all the tribulations that are going on now will be over soon, and we will be living in a world of peace.” With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.