Steven Seagal appears at Vladimir Putin's inauguration - actor's relationship with Russian president explained

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During the inauguration of Vladimir Putin’s fifth term, Hollywood actor Steven Seagal made an eyebrow-raising appearance.

US actor Steven Seagal has raised eyebrows after he appeared at Vladimir Putin’s presidential inauguration.

Putin was sworn in the a fifth term after the recent Russian election, which means that the country’s leader has held the role for almost 25 years. Seagal, 72, is close to the Russian president, and has in the past described himself as “one million percent” Russian.

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He arrived in Moscow for the ceremony due to take place on Tuesday, May 7. He has described Putin as "one of the greatest world leaders, if not the greatest world leader, alive today" and in a bizarre answer given to reporters when asked what he would tell Americans about the Russian leader, he said: “I’m very looking forward to it.” It may seem like a puzzling connection between the two for those who are only aware of Seagal’s movie performances, however he has been involved with and close to Russian politics for years. In 2016, he was granted a Russian passport after stating his support for the annexation of Crimea and two years later, he was selected as the Russian envoy to the US.

After he was granted citizenship, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: "This [was his] desire, he had really applied. He had been really persistent for a long time and been asking to grant him citizenship, he is actually renowned for his quite warm feelings toward our country. He never made a secret out of it, at the same time he is quite famous, as you know, actor."

The Michigan-born actor’s ‘bromance’ with Putin is said to have been born out of a love for martial arts, alongside his familial links to the country. His paternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants, and has said that he still has some relatives in the county.

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