Seagal has appeared to develop a relationship with Russian President Vladmir Putin. Steven Seagal, diplomat?

Steven Seagal, cultural ambassador?

The action hero, martial artist and musician attempted to set up a visit of several members of Congress to Chechnya, but the lawmakers got cold feet at the last minute, POLITICO has learned.


The congressional trip — officially known as a CODEL — to Russia is part of a House committee’s investigation of last month’s Boston Marathon bombing. The two brothers accused of plotting the attack that killed three and wounded scores are Chechen Muslims, who grew up in the Kalmykia region of Russia and later emigrated to the United States.

Before the lawmakers left, Seagal, who has appeared to develop a relationship with Russian President Vladmir Putin and Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, laid the groundwork for a detour.

“The CODEL’s visit to Chechnya was facilitated by Steven Seagal. He has an established friendship with Putin and others in the Russian government and assisted in accommodating the CODEL’s request to visit the region,” said Tara Setmayer, a spokeswoman for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.).

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Congressional sources say that the proposed visit caused a split within the delegation, with several members uncomfortable about traveling into a region ruled by a Kremlin-backed strongman with a spotty human rights record.

Along with Rohrabacher, the delegation to Russia includes Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Bill Keating (D-Mass), Steve King (R-Iowa), Paul Cook (R-Calif.) and Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), ABC News reported.

The offices of all those members all declined to comment, citing congressional security rules about foreign travel.

Several messages left for Seagal’s talent agencies went unanswered. The U.S. State Department declined to comment.

Seagal has been in Russia recently, assisting the Putin government with a variety of initiatives including a fitness campaign and an effort to lobby the U.S. government on guns on Moscow’s behalf. And last week, Kadyrov posted a photo of himself with Seagal in the Chechen capital of Grozny.

Chechnya is currently a semi-autonomous independent republic within Russia and ruled by Kadyrov, an ally of Moscow. The region was the site of two major insurgencies against Russian rule by ethnic Chechen rebels.

Kadyrov’s human rights record has come under fire from watchdog groups, who allege that critics of his government and journalists have been murdered on his watch. A 2012 report by the nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch accuses Kadyrov of threatening human rights activists in Chechnya.

Kadyrov’s active Instagram account also contains dozens of candid shots of the leader — including photos of himself boxing, playing with tigers, riding a motorcycle helmetless and posing with all manner of domesticated animals.

Actor Gerard Depardieu and actress Elizabeth Hurley were also recently in Grozny shooting a film, according to reports.