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MOSCOW – Steven Seagal has received an offer to feature in ads for a Russian weapons manufacturer, and Russian authorities seem to like the idea.
While visiting Russia’s leading weapons plant in Kovrov, a town located 260 km North East of Moscow, Seagal told reporters that he was invited by the plant’s billionaire owner Igor Kesayev and will feature in advertisements for Kovrov weapons in the United States.
“I trust Kesayev,” he was quoted as saying by the local edition of the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda. “Whatever is put in my hands, I will advertise.”
Featuring a U.S. actor in weapons ads would be unlikely without authorities’ consent, but apparently there wouldn’t be any problems with that. Later that day, deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin, known for his hawkish and anti-Western attitudes, praised the idea.
“Me and the plant’s shareholders just discussed the possibility of using, among others, Mr. Seagal for demonstration of Russian weapons’ advantages in international markets,” Rogozin was quoted as saying during his visit to the plant by the wire service RIA Novosti. He didn’t specifically mention ads but said that Seagal could demonstrate Russian weapons at major international arms exhibitions.
Seagal has spent quite a lot of time in Russia lately, especially since Rogozin asked him to lobby U.S. legislators to abolish restrictions on Russian arms sales last March.
Two weeks ago, Seagal visited Chechnya, and the republic’s leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, later wrote in captions to photos on his Instagram account that the actor promised him he would come back and play a gig. “The actor (and he is also a singer, in case you didn’t know), promised to hold a solo concert in Grozny this year,” Kadyrov wrote.
Last week, while on a visit to the city of Saratov, Seagal told reporters he doesn’t rule out obtaining a Russian passport.
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