‘The Russian people have never been better off...' The stars who got close to Russian President Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has set back relations between the West and Russia for years to come due to him ordering a military invasion of neighbouring country Ukraine in February 2022. In the decade he had been in office prior, Putin had made many friends within the world of entertainment and sport. These are the stars who were pals with Putin...

The 'Baywatch' star and animal activist wrote to Putin demanding him to stop the whale meat trade. She then got close to Putin and was invited to 2012’s inauguration ceremony where she handed him a bunch of flowers. Their friendship even sparked romance rumours and Pamela has visited the Kremlin on several occasions.

In 2013, the ‘Last Metro’ actor was granted Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin. They were photographed sharing some laughs and hugs at the time. In an open letter to Russian television, Depardieu stated: “I love your president, Vladimir Putin, very much and it’s mutual.”

In 2014, the ‘Iron Man 2’ star was spotted walking around the streets of Moscow dressed in a Vladimir Putin T-shirt. Discussing their meeting, Rourke said: "I actually met Putin and I had a good feeling about him. "I liked him, we got along very well and he seemed like a really OK guy to me."

The Belgian action star once met up with Putin to watch an MMA fighting contest in Russia back in 2010. The pair had ringside seats at the competition, which is known in Russia as "fight without rules". Putin presented the winner of the Ultimate Fighting European Championship with a prize. In an interview with TMZ in 2016 about cyber-attacks, Van Damme spoke of his close bond with Putin by saying: “Right now it’s no more time to talk about cyber-attack, no more time to talk about nothing else but to fly to Russia, to have a vodka with Mr. Putin and to try to make peace, because all the rest are weak countries, except America.”

In 2015, the newspaper Izvestia published letters between the Limp Bizkit frontman and the head of the Russian de-facto government of Crimea, Sergey Valeryevich Aksyonov. Durst's letter read: "I'll make movies, TV shows, music in Crimea ... I think I could be a friend of President Putin. "I am sure of that ... I think that President Putin will find out what sort of person I am when he looks into my eyes and he will realize that in me he has an ally that can help in many ways."

Former UFC champion Conor McGregor met Vladimir Putin at the final of the 2018 World Cup, which took place at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow and saw France defeat Croatia 4–2. McGregor took to his Instagram account to share how the encounter went. He wrote: "Today I was invited to the World Cup final as a guest of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This man is one of the greatest leaders of our time and I was honored to attend such a landmark event alongside him."

The Oscar-winning director - famous for films such as 'Born on the Fourth of July, 'Platoon' and 'Nixon' - in 2017 released a four-part TV series called ‘The Putin Interviews’, in which he explored the life and political career of the Russian President. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, Stone shared his perception on Putin. He said: “The Russian people have never been better off. But of course, in America, they're [the Russians] miserable, dictated to, in stalags, in gulags ... It's just crazy."

‘Titanic’ actor Leonardo DiCaprio met Vladimir Putin at a World Wildlife Foundation event with the intention to raise awareness on the protection of Siberian tigers. According to The Guardian newspaper, the film star described the Russian President as a “very interesting” person. He even said he “would love to play him" in a biopic. In an interview with German outlet Welt, Leo also said: "Putin and I talked only about the protection of these magnificent animals, not politics."

The former Formula 1 boss is long-standing pals with Putin. Bernie has even called for him to run the whole of Europe. Following the invasion of Ukraine, he came to Putin’s defence. Bernie said: "As a person I found him [Putin] very straightforward and honourable. “He did exactly what he said he was going to do without any arguments. “He's a good guy. He's never done anything that isn't doing good things for people. “I would like him running Europe. We haven't got anybody, so it couldn't be any worse. “He does what he says he is going to do... I am not a supporter of democracy."

Action icon Steven Seagal is very close to Putin. Only on April 10, 2022, the film star celebrated his 70th birthday in Moscow, along with Putin’s team. At the birthday party, he gave a speech and toasted with the following words: “Each and every one of you, you are my family and my friends. And I love all of you. We stand together, through thick and through thin.” Seagal was granted Russian citizenship in 2016.