Putin grants Russian citizenship to US athlete Monson

President Vladimir Putin has issued a decree to grant Russian citizenship to US athlete Jeffrey Monson. The decree, signed on May 28, was published on the official legal information portal on Tuesday. Monson, a mixed martial arts fighter and a native of Minnesota, has contested 85 fights, winning 60 of them. He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion. Monson, who is known for his fondness of Russia, received the title of honorary citizen of Abkhazia in 2016 and, last year, a citizen’s passport of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic, TASS reports. The decision to grant Russian citizenship to Monson was approved in December 2015.