1 of 4 Vladimir Putin,President Vladimir Putin,Putin,Steven Seagal,actor Steven Seagal,US actor Steven Seagal,Russian passport to US actor Steven Seagal
Vladimir Putin holds a Russian passport before presenting it to Steven Seagal. At a Kremlin ceremony where Seagal signed his new passport in front of Putin, the Russian leader said: "I want to congratulate you and express the hope that this is another, albeit small, gesture and it might be a sign of the gradual normalization of relations between our countries." Credit: Reuters
2 of 4 Vladimir Putin,President Vladimir Putin,Putin,Steven Seagal,actor Steven Seagal,US actor Steven Seagal,Russian passport to US actor Steven Seagal
Vladimir Putin meets with Steven Seagal at the Kremlin. Seagal is the latest Western celebrity to have been given a Russian passport in the past few years. In 2013, Gerard Depardieu, a French actor, was given citizenship by Putin. Credit: Reuters
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3 of 4 Vladimir Putin,President Vladimir Putin,Putin,Steven Seagal,actor Steven Seagal,US actor Steven Seagal,Russian passport to US actor Steven Seagal
Vladimir Putin holds a Russian passport before presenting it to Steven Seagal. For more than a decade Seagal, who according to his own website is 64, has been a regular visitor to Russia. His movies, including such titles as "Under Siege" and "Sniper: Special Ops," are popular with Russian audiences. Credit: Reuters
4 of 4 Vladimir Putin,President Vladimir Putin,Putin,Steven Seagal,actor Steven Seagal,US actor Steven Seagal,Russian passport to US actor Steven Seagal
Russia's President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with American actor Steven Seagal during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, November 25, 2016. Putin presented a Russian passport to Seagal on Friday and said he hoped it would serve as a symbol of how the fractious ties between Moscow and Washington are starting to improve. Credit: Reuters