Vladimir Putin has signed an executive order granting Steven Seagal Russian citizenship.

A brief statement on the Russian president's website reads: "In compliance with Item A of Article 89 of the Russian Federation Constitution, the President issued the order to accord Russian Federation citizenship to Steven Frederic Seagal, born April 10, 1952, in the United States of America."

He was granted Serbian citizenship earlier this year.

Associated Press reports that Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Seagal "has been insistent for a long time in asking to be granted Russian citizenship [...] He is known for his warm feelings to our country - he never made a secret of it".

The action star has previously expressed his admiration for the Russian leader, once suggesting that Putin is possibly “the greatest world leader alive today”.

In a 2014 interview, he also claimed that Putin's controversial actions in Crimea were 'very reasonable'.

Seagal has been known to wear many different hats over the years - as actor, martial artist, musician, businessman and a reserve deputy sheriff, among other roles.

However, he has also displayed his knowledge of traditional dance routines during a trip to Chechnya: