Steven Seagal has had an interesting career, to say the least. He was once a well-known martial arts actor who went on to star in various films such as Above the Law, Under Siege, and The Patriot, to name a few. Aside from his acting career, Seagal has made headlines after he was accused of sexual misconduct as well as other forms of violence that includes raiding a house and killing a puppy.

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Today, Seagal has managed to work his way into the good books of some of the world’s most influential politicians. He publicly expressed his support for Trump during his tenure as the President, as well as winning the heart of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who bestowed the title of citizenship on him in 2016.

The recognition of Seagal as a Russian citizen aimed to strengthen the tie between Moscow and Washington. Seagal was awarded his new passport bearing in a ceremony at the Kremlin ceremony where Putin said, “I want to congratulate you and express the hope that this is another, albeit small, gesture and it might be a sign of the gradual normalization of relations between our countries.”

Putin and Seagal have known each other for decades. Putin is a well-known martial arts fan which is Seagal’s area of expertise, and some of the latter’s movies like Under the Siege are quite popular in Russia. Seagal’s Russian citizenship was believed to have a higher significance than the Russian leader’s personal interest in Seagal. The latter reportedly acted as a tool of collaboration between the two countries on serious issues like anti-terrorism.

It wasn’t the first time Seagal was feted by Putin. In 2013, the 70-year-old martial arts actor was considered for the position of honorary counsel in Arizona and California. This was suggested by the Russian President and would have allowed Seagal to act as a negotiator between the countries.

The actor moved to Moscow after getting his Russian citizenship and continued to maintain his dual citizenship status thereafter. As an advocate of Putin’s policies, he sided with Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and snaps of him visiting a Russian-controlled prison camp were taken during the war.

In 2018, he was made Russia’s special diplomat to the United States to solidify the relations between both countries. Turns out that Seagal has lived up to the expectations of him and the job he was assigned to do. Very recently, on Feb. 27, 2022, he was awarded the Order of Friendship by Putin for helping to bolster Russia’s relationship with other countries, especially his home country, the United States.

Per Reuters, it was an award for cultural and humanitarian work on a global level. This won’t come as a surprise as he has continued to maintain his position as a staunch supporter of Russian policies including advocating Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 and Ukraine in 2022.

As of now, he resides in Moscow, but he also has residences in California and Louisiana.