Seagal Wants to Open Business, Make Movies, Help Environment in Russia

Famous US actor Steven Seagal is thinking about starting up his own production company in Russia, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Seagal is currently looking into forming a joint venture with various Russian partners and making movies, according to the online news service Rambler.

The action star has had close ties with Russia for quite some time. Two years ago, Seagal wanted to become the face of the Kalashnikov's ad campaign.

This summer, Seagal went to Russia's Republic of Yakutia on a business trip as a potential investor in the local diamond industry.

After visiting the diamond mine Seagal said he wanted to become the official face of a binocular developed by Russia's National Research Nuclear University MEPhI.

And now, Seagal plans to visit Russia again later this month together with another celebrity, Pamela Anderson, to take part in the environmental event Tiger Day. The event will help to save endangered species, including rare Amur tigers and leopards.

Seagal is known for his action movies and being an accomplished martial artist. He was the first foreigner to open up an Aikido gym in Japan.

As for the Baywatch star, she's also been in contact with the Russian government. Anderson flew to Vladivostok to attend an economic forum after Russian Environment Minister Sergei Donskoi invited her. During her visit, Anderson sold off her famous red float used in Baywatch for 3 million rubles ($45,000) to raise money to protect endangered species in Russia's Far East.

In July, Anderson asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to block the Northern Sea Route for a ship carrying whale meat from Iceland to Japan. However, the Russian government rejected Anderson's request, stating that Moscow had no legal grounds for the detention of the ship since the whaling itself hadn't been done in Russian territory.