Steven Seagal Attends Inauguration Ceremony of Russian President Vladimir Putin

The actor was previously appointed as "a special representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry in charge of Russian and American Humanitarian ties"

Steven Seagal is supporting Vladimir Putin as he begins his fifth term as the president of Russia.

The actor and martial artist, 72, was photographed attending Putin's inauguration ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow on Tuesday, May 7.

Seagal — who has Russian ancestry and citizenship — has long been a supporter of Putin, 71. Back in March, the controversial autocrat was reelected to the country's presidency in a landslide, which will see him hold the position until at least 2030.

Putin is the longest-serving Kremlin leader since dictator Josef Stalin, who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953.

A rep for Seagal did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Tuesday.

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Seagal has an unorthodox relationship with Russia, having been granted citizenship there by Putin in 2016. He was later tasked with improving ties between Moscow and Washington.

Putin awarded Seagal with Russia's state Order of Friendship in February 2023, "to reward him for his international humanitarian and cultural work," per Reuters.

Meanwhile, Putin's reelection and inauguration comes amid his ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

U.S. officials said in August 2023 that the total number of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed or wounded since the war began was nearing 500,000. According to the nonprofit group Save the Children, an average of 42 civilians have been killed or injured daily in the two years of war.

Related: Vladimir Putin Projected to Easily Win 5th Term as Russian President, Granting Him Power Until 2030

Putin previously worked as a foreign intelligence officer for the Russian spy agency KGB, ultimately turning to politics in 1991. He was appointed president in August 1999 by then-President Boris Yeltsin, who resigned on New Year's Eve, thrusting Putin into an acting president role until his formal election a few months later.

In recent years, Seagal has been accused of sexual harassment and other misconduct by several women, including Portia de Rossi, Julianna Margulies, Jenny McCarthy and Inside Edition correspondent Lisa Guerrero.

In 2018, the actor was accused of rape by an extra who appeared in his 1994 film On Deadly Ground, who told The Wrap that she was 18 at the time of the alleged incident, which she claimed happened after he invited her to a 1993 wrap party at his home in Beverly Hills, California.

Seagal has denied the accusations against him.

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