North Korea has Dennis Rodman. Russia has Steven Seagal.
The ‘Under Siege’ actor was awarded an Order of Friendship medal after continuing to support President Vladimir Putin during the invasion of Ukraine. Seagal accused the United States government of spending “billions of dollars on disinformation and lies” in the media to “try to discredit, demoralize and destroy Russia’s emerging morality” during an event hosted by the International Movement of Human Rights Russians in Moscow (via The Independent).
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“More than half the people of America love Russia and Russians and know they are being lied to,” Seagal said. “My father was pure Russian and I grew up in a pure Russian household because my mother was totally immersed in Russian culture and had no parents. So I grew up with Russian culture.”
The Michigan native continued, “I grew up with Russia and everything I learned about it from a young age. And to me, I’m a million percent Russophile and a million percent Russian.”
Seagal was appointed the Russian Foreign Ministry’s special envoy for Russian-US humanitarian relations in 2018. This year’s Medal of Friendship should recognize Seagal’s “great contribution to the development of international cultural and humanitarian cooperation,” as Putin said.
In 2020, Seagal recorded a birthday message for Putin stating, “Today is President Putin’s birthday. I just think that we are living in very, very difficult times now. He is one of the greatest leaders in the world and one of the greatest presidents in the world. And I really hope and pray that he gets the support, love and respect that he needs. And that all the tribulations that are taking place now will soon be over and we will live in a world of peace.”
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“Anyone who thinks that Vladimir Putin had anything to do with rigging the elections or that the Russians have this kind of technology is stupid,” Seagal said. “And that kind of propaganda is really a red herring… so people in the United States don’t really see what’s happening.”
Seagal was previously banned from Ukraine and classified as a national security threat.
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