Vladimir Putin has been in power for 20 years.
His heroically staged photo shoots are famous.
A survey now names him the most attractive Russian.
Moscow - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin likes to portray himself as a stereotypical ideal of masculinity.
Preferred in the wilds of Siberia.
Topless, riding a horse.
A big pike in your hands.
Or hunting - again with a bare, steel upper body, of course.
Only recently, US President Joe Biden indirectly called him a "murderer" - shortly afterwards he showed himself completely clad in lambskin, driving a camouflaged SUV.
Observers: inside interpreted the performance as a reaction to Biden's verbal blow.
It fits in with Putin's cult of masculinity, which the Kremlin's annually published photos continuously emphasize.
Biden's words met Putin's harsh self-portrayal.
Putin, the man.
According to a recent survey, this is well received by his compatriots.
As reported by the English-language online newspaper
Moscow Times
, Putin took first place in a survey of the most attractive man in Russia by the Russian portal “SuperJob”.
18 percent of Russian men and 17 percent of Russian women voted for the 68-year-old.
According to the newspaper, 1,000 men and 1,000 women were interviewed.
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Putin during a 2013 fishing tour in a national nature reserve in Tuwa (Tyva) in south-central Siberia.
© imago stock & people
The most attractive man in Russia: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin - staging of stereotypical masculinity
If there were a Pirelli calendar of politics, Vladimir Putin would certainly be the cover model.
Since he came to power, the Kremlin has regularly published series of photos of the prime minister aimed at demonstrating his physique and toughness.
If other heads of state show up at their desk during photo appointments, Putin prefers to bend over a stunned tiger.
The poll, released on April 2nd, suggests that his demonstrations of power are well received.
Only that the Twitter community has its doubts.
A closer look at the survey reveals the small sample of 2,000 people.
How the respondents were selected in the open survey is not revealed, it simply says: "from all districts of the country".
Representative is something else.
And therefore leaves plenty of room for swipes against Vladimir Putin.
Poll: "Which famous man in Russia do you think is the most attractive?"
1st place: Vladimir Putin
2nd place: Actor Dmitri Vladimirovich Nagiyev
3rd place: The actors Danila Valerjewitsch Koslowski and Konstantin Khabensky
"Not a word yet about what happened to the 82% of men and 83% of women who did not vote for Putin in the poll," jokes the US tabloid
New York Post
.
"Just like Putin was elected in a 'fair' election, right?" Commented one person on Twitter.
"Pretty late for an April Fool's joke," says another user.
Someone else posts a photo of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who is currently in a Russian prison camp, and writes: "This man is much more attractive".
(aka)
