Steven Seagal is assigned to teach aikido to Russian soldiers

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In the 1990s and early 2000s he was a celebrated action movie star, today he is best known for his close relationship with Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin (70): the actor Steven Seagal (70).

The former Hollywood star, who has been a Russian citizen since 2016, has now opened an aikido center in Moscow. There he must prepare young Russians for participation in the Russian army and introduce them to Japanese martial arts.

As of 2018, Seagal is Russia’s premier aikido instructor. He has a seventh dan black belt.

“The young people I saw have great potential. We need to open more such centers to take advantage of this. It is important that the development of aikido is accelerated,” Seagal said at the opening of the Russian news agency TASS.

Seagal receives “Order of Friendship”

Seagal has spoken out in favor of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Last year, the actor visited the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Olenivka in Donetsk Oblast and the camps for Ukrainian prisoners of war there. The Russian media presented the visit as an event of the century.

Seagal has never hidden his sympathy for Vladimir Putin. He is a member of the Kremlin’s Fair Russia party. He called the Russian president “one of the greatest leaders in the world, if not the greatest leader alive today.”

There are numerous recordings in which the two can be seen shaking hands, hugging or laughing. Putin recently awarded Seagal the Russian Order of Friendship.

In 2021, he presented a samurai sword to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (60) on behalf of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Today he is the Special Envoy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation for relations with the USA and Japan.

Source: Blick