Steven Seagal is hired by Russia to train its military in martial arts

Steven Seagal is hired by Russia to train its military in martial arts

Steven Seagal, one of the stars of American action films in the 1990s and early 2000s, has created an aikido centre in Moscow with the goal of educating young Russians to enlist in the Russian armed services.

A seventh-dan black belt in aikido, Seagal, who became a Russian citizen in 2016, has been the head instructor of the martial art in the Russian Federation 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,”  According to Seagal, TASS, a Russian news source.

Seagal has never been shy about his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has dubbed “one of the greatest world leaders, if not the greatest leader alive today” Putin recently bestowed upon him the Order of Friendship.

The actor, who has previously supported Russia’s invasion of Crimea, visited the Russian city of Olenivka and its detention camp for Ukrainian captives last year.

On behalf of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Seagal sent Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela, a samurai sword in 2021.