Steven Seagal's Career and Life Has Taken Some Unexpected Turns — Now, He's in Russia

When he was an action movie star in the 1980s and '90s, no one could have expected the turn that Steven Seagal's life would take. And we aren't just talking about his career. Since 2014, when he openly supported Vladimir Putin, per The Moscow Times, Seagal has been a staunch supporter of Russia and of Putin's decisions as the president. But why is Steven Seagal in Russia?

In November 2024, someone on Reddit shared apparent images of Seagal allegedly helping the Russian army on the battlefield. Prior to that, in October 2024, Seagal said in a documentary called In The Name of Justice that he would die for Putin, according to The Kyiv Independent. The outlet also reported that Seagal was given Russian citizenship in 2016. But some people still can't understand why Seagal developed a fascination with Russia, especially since he was born and raised in Michigan.

According to News24, Steven relocated to Moscow after being fined for promoting a cryptocurrency. It was a fine that he allegedly failed to pay in full, though Steven has not publicly said that he moved to Russia for that reason, or a reason related to the reported fines he incurred for failing to report earnings.

He also called himself "1 million percent Russian," according to The Independent. The outlet reported in March 2023 that, after Steven was given the Order of Friendship medal, he made the declaration to cement his loyalty to the country. He has since continued to be vocal about his support for Putin and for Russia as a whole. According to Business Insider, he was at a May 2025 celebratory parade in honor of the Russian president.

In February 2022, during a rare interview with a news outlet, Steven spoke to Fox News about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Most of us have friends and family in Russia and Ukraine," he said at the time. "I look at both as one family and really believe it is an outside entity spending huge sums of money on propaganda to provoke the two countries to be at odds with each other."

Given Donald Trump's on-and-off relationship with Putin and the unclear stance he has with the Russian leader, it has made some wonder what Steven Seagal thinks about Trump. Although Steven has not been active on social media in years, he did write a Facebook post in 2017 to congratulate Trump on his first presidential win.

At the time, he wrote, "Congratulations to President Donald Trump! Wonderful speech! I'm so grateful and proud to finally have a President for the People!"

This was a post made after Steven Seagal became a citizen in Russia, but before he began to go radio silent on social media. Given Steven Seagal's citizenship in Russia, it looks like his loyalty remains there.