Steven Seagal, one of the icons of American action movies in the 1990s and early 2000s, has just opened an aikido centre in Moscow with the intention of preparing young Russians to join the Russian armed forces.
Seagal, who became a Russian citizen in 2016, is a seventh-dan black belt in aikido, as well as being the chief instructor within the Russian Federation of this martial art since 2018.
“The young people I saw today have a very big potential. We need to open more such centres to develop that potential. It is important that the development of aikido progresses at a faster pace,” Seagal told Russia’s TASS news agency.
Seagal has never hidden his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has called “one of the greatest world leaders, if not the greatest leader alive today”. Putin recently awarded him the Order of Friendship.
The actor, who has previously spoken out in favour of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, visited the Russian city of Olenivka and its prison camp for Ukrainian detainees last year.
In 2021, Seagal presented Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with a samurai sword on behalf of the Russian Foreign Ministry.