Every few months, ubermensch Vladimir Putin is strategically caught on camera engaged in the type of muscular activity that would induce brain clotting in lesser humans. Putin wrassles a bear. Putin hurls a weakling to the earth with an uchi mata. Putin shoots a whale with a crossbow (no, seriously). Now The Atlantic's photo blog "In Focus" has compiled the best of the macho Putin imagery. The shot above has the following caption:
A video grab shows Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin looking through the porthole of the "Mir-2" mini-submersible in Lake Baikal, on August 1, 2009. Putin dove into the depths of the lake aboard the mini-submersible on Saturday, descending 1,400 meters (4,600 ft) below the surface of the world's deepest lake to inspect valuable gas crystals. (Reuters/RIA Novosti/Kremlin)
Valuable gas crystals!
Here's Putin conferring with a man called Khirurg (the Surgeon), who is the leader of the Nochniye Volki (the Night Wolves) biker "group." You know, just because:
Vladimir Putin, Action Man [The Atlantic]