American actor Steven Seagal is to receive his Russian passport personally from President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin has confirmed.
Seagal, who is known for starring in past action blockbusters, was granted Russian citizenship in early November. He arrived in Moscow last week, grabbing headlines by broaching investment deals with Russian companies and starring in an advert for Russian communications firm Megafon.
"The president still has a number of scheduled meetings, but will be meeting [Seagal] today to give him his Russian passport,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
Seagal is not the first Western actor to take a Russian passport, with French film star Gerard Depardieu taking Russian citizenship in 2013. "I am ready to die for Russia," Depardieu said in a Vanity Fair interview in 2015, "the people there are strong."
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