Aikido specialist Steven Seagal, 70, was one of the stars of American action cinema in the 1980s and 1990s. As his career waned, the native of Lansing, Michigan, gradually brought closer to authoritarian leaders, in particular the head of the Kremlin.
In 2016, he received a Russian passport from the hands of Vladimir Putin, while retaining his American nationality. Installed since in Russia, he even joined in 2021 a nationalist party.
Last August, he traveled to eastern Ukraine to meet with the leader of pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, and offer his support. He then visited the prison of Olenivka, near Donetsk, where dozens of Ukrainian prisoners died in an explosion this summer.
One of the greatest leaders in the world
For Vladimir Putin’s 70th birthday in October, Steven Seagal also recorded a video of support for the Russian president, whom he called “one of the greatest leaders in the world“.
“I truly hope and pray that he receives the support, love and respect he needs. And that all the current tribulations will soon end, that we will live in a peaceful world“, had added the former actor.