Fluctuating between political asset and personal stooge, Steven Seagal continues to prove his worth to his Russian overlord.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to honor Steven Seagal with the Order of Friendship.
The award, which was established by former President Boris Yeltsin, was presented to the 70-year-old former action star for his “great contribution to the development of international cultural and humanitarian cooperation.”
Putin’s decision to bestow Seagal with the state honor marked the latest development in their bizarre 20-year friendship. It also served to symbolically recompense Seagal for more than a decade of service as a leading propagandist for the Kremlin.
Putin and Seagal first met in 2003, when the actor was a guest at the Moscow Film Festival. During the multi-day event, Seagal seemingly expressed his deep respect and admiration for the president, which helped spark their ongoing friendship. Naturally, the two men—both allegedly blackbelts in Japanese martial arts—bonded particularly well through a shared interest in combat sports.
Over the years, Seagal continued to return to Russia to meet with Putin, who seemed keen to associate with the retired martial artist as part of his cult of personality—a macho persona fashioned from television stunts, topless photoshoots, and choreographed public adulation—he propagated throughout Russia.
On one occasion in 2013, Putin orchestrated a photo-op alongside Steven Seagal at a renowned martial arts academy in Moscow. Seagal shadowed Putin throughout the event as though he were a member of the president’s security detail. Since then, the American martial artist and D-list actor has served as an unofficial spokesperson of sorts for Putin, defending Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and referring to him as “one of the greatest world leaders, if not the greatest world leader alive.”
The longstanding friendship between Putin and Seagal quickly became mutually beneficial. Seagal’s faltering stardom was revitalized in Russia while Putin gained a political ally to salvage his image in the West.
The Russian president put this theory to test when he proposed to the Obama administration that Seagal be appointed as Russia’s “honorary consul” in several U.S. states. The proposal would have positioned Seagal as an official envoy and mediator between Washington and the Kremlin when all other avenues had deteriorated—a proposition that reportedly left Obama “flabbergasted”.
While Putin’s attempt to use Seagal to mediate ties between the US and Russia failed during Obama’s tenure in office, Seagal remained involved in back-channel discussions between the US and Russia. In 2013, Seagal accompanied an American congressional delegation to Russia following the Boston Marathon bombings. According to one of the congressmen present on the trip, Seagal “opened up some doors” for the group while in Russia.
Seagal would go on to become a full-fledged Kremlin propagandist over the coming year. He publicly defended Putin’s annexation of Crimea, referring to his policies as “very reasonable.” He also played at a concert for pro-Russian separatists in the Crimean peninsula following its annexation.
As a result of his loyalty to Putin, Seagal was rewarded with Russian citizenship in November 2016.
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About the author: Karim Zidan is an investigative reporter for Bloody Elbow focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. His is also a contributor to The New York Times and The Guardian. Subscribe to his Sports Politika newsletter. (full bio)