Mr. Putin told Mr. Seagal, according to TASS, that the two would not “politicize” the event. But the Russian leader, who has said he hoped for better ties with the United States after the election of Donald J. Trump, was also quoted as telling Mr. Seagal: “I would like to congratulate you, and I also hope that this small step will mark the beginning of the gradual improvement in our interstate relations.”

Image The French actor Gerard Depardieu, left, with President Vladimir V. Putin in Sochi, Russia, in 2013. Mr. Depardieu sought Russian citizenship as part of his battle against higher taxes. Credit... Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti Kremlin, via Associated Press

Mr. Seagal replied in Russian, “Thank you very much,” according to TASS.

Mr. Seagal, who is 64 and was born in Michigan, follows in the footsteps of another Western actor whose fame crested decades ago but who managed to emerge in the embrace of Russia: Gerard Depardieu, the French actor, was given Russian citizenship in 2013 after renouncing his native citizenship in a protest over high taxes.

The American boxer Roy Jones Jr. also became a Russian citizen in 2015, The Associated Press reported.

The Kremlin announced on Nov. 3 that Mr. Seagal had received Russian citizenship, but it was not immediately clear why he sought that status. On Twitter, Mr. Seagal has said that he has family ties to Russia but that he never intended to give up his American citizenship.