Russian President Vladimir Putin posed for action shots throughout his vacation earlier this week, as he fished, kayaked, snorkeled, and mushroom-picked his way through southern Siberia.
The Kremlin has often sought to portray the Russian leader through photos as a macho outdoorsman – he has been similarly photographed in the past doing activities like horseback riding, hunting, and practicing Judo.
On this vacation, Putin spent two days in the Tuva region and was accompanied part of the time by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Bloomberg.
And while the Siberian lake Putin visited is usually 63 degrees Fahrenheit, “that didn’t keep the president from going for a swim,” Peskov said. He added that Putin was “chasing a pike for two hours and just couldn’t hit it, but he managed to get it in the end.”
Here’s what Putin got up to in the early days of August:
Het bericht Kremlin releases photos of Vladimir Putin’s vacation in Siberia verscheen eerst op Business Insider.