Where is Steven Seagal from? Ethnicity explored as actor sparks controversy by attending Russian prison camp in Ukraine 

American actor Steven Seagal recently found himself in the middle of a controversy after photos of him visiting a Russian prison camp in Ukraine’s Olenivka region surfaced online. The sighting comes after a July 29 attack on the prison that left at least 50 Ukrainian prisoners dead and 70 injured.

The Washington Post previously reported that, following the attack on the prison, Moscow accused Ukrainian forces of using US-made HIMARS or High Mobility Artillery Rocket System to destroy the prison camp. However, no official discovery has been made to substantiate the accusation so far.

Steven Seagal, who is known for his active support towards Russia and President Vladimir Putin, was seen standing amidst the wreckage in the prison. Another photo showed prisoners talking to the actor from behind bars.

According to a video published by TVZVEZDA, Seagal was identified as a “special representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation for Humanitarian Relations between Russia and the US.”

In the footage, Steven Seagal can be seen talking about the attack on the Olenivka prison and hinting towards Ukraine’s usage of HIMARS on the site:

“It definitely looks like a rocket. If you look at the burning and other details, of course it’s not a bomb. Not to mention the fact that Russia really has a lot of artifacts from HIMARS. This is where HIMARS hit, 50 people were killed, another 70 were injured.”

The site also reported that the actor allegedly shared a conspiracy theory suggesting that Ukrainian troops used HIMARS at the venue as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wanted to silence a Nazi prisoner who was reportedly talking about the president:

“The interesting thing is that one of the killed Nazis is a Nazi who just started talking a lot about Zelensky and that Zelensky is responsible for the orders about torture and other atrocities that violate not only the Geneva War Convention, but are also crimes against humanity.”

The authenticity of Seagal’s video was analyzed by open-source intelligence analyst Oliver Alexander. He told the Military Times:

“[That’s] not how I would expect this ‘smoking gun’ evidence to be handled if Russia, 1. believed it was actual evidence and 2. had any intention of letting UN investigators to the site.”

He also shared that the photos of Seagal’s surroundings matched the images of the Olenivka prison that were previously shared by the BBC. His presence at the camp was also confirmed by the Odessa Journal.

Although Steven Seagal is originally from the United States, he reportedly received Russian citizenship from President Putin in 2006.

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Looking into Steven Seagal’s ethnicity and background

Steven Seagal reportedly has citizenships in the US, Serbia and Russia (Image via Getty Images)

Steven Seagal is an American actor, martial artist, and screenwriter. He was born to Patricia and Samuel Seagal on April 10, 1952, in Lansing, Michigan. His father was a high school teacher and his mother reportedly worked as a medical technician.

While Samuel was Jewish, Patricia was of Irish descent. Meanwhile, Seagal’s paternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants.

The actor moved to Fullerton, California, with his parents at the age of five. He attended California’s Buena Park High School and later finished his higher studies at Fullerton College. Seagal mostly spent his teenage years listening to music in his garage.

Sometime between 1971 and 1973, the actor moved to Japan after being inspired by a friendly old Japanese man he met while working at a dojo in Garden Grove.

However, he returned to California in 1974 and met Miyako Fujitani, a second-degree black belt and daughter of an aikido master, in Los Angeles. Seagal returned to Osaka and eventually married Fujitani. They have two children together.

The Hard to Kill star also began teaching at a Japanese school owned by Fujitani’s family before returning to Taos, New Mexico, with his then-student stuntman Craig Dunn. The duo also opened a dojo together in Taos.

Steven Seagal returned to Japan once again before traveling back to the US in 1983 with his student Haruo Matsuoka. The duo opened another aikido dojo in North Hollywood and later moved it to West Hollywood where it ran until 1997.

The Above the Law actor reportedly holds citizenship in the United States, Serbia, and Russia. He has jus soli citizenship in the United States, the place where he was born. He earned Serbian citizenship in 2016 after making repeated visits to the country, and was asked to teach aikido to the Serbian Special Forces.

Steven Seagal has been a longtime supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has vocally supported the annexation of Crimea. He was reportedly granted Russian citizenship on November 3, 2016, with Putin allegedly handing him a Russian passport.

Speaking on Seagal’s citizenship, government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the time:

“He was asking quite insistently and over a lengthy period to be granted citizenship.”

Reports suggest that the actor was previously banned from entering Ukraine for five years after receiving his Russian citizenship.