Action Man Putin is back. This time in a mini-submarine

Another summer, another trip to the bottom of a sea for Russia’s adventure-loving president.

Vladimir Putin climbed into a three-seat submersible craft on Tuesday to check out an ancient sunken ship found recently in the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea -- the peninsula annexed by Russia last year from Ukraine. He descended 83 metres to see the remains of the Byzantine trading ship, which he said dated back to the 9th or 10th century.

On Tuesday, the Russian president explored the remains of a Byzantine trading ship which dated back to the 10th Century. His head could be seen poking from the submersible vessel's glass dome structure before he took it 83 m below the water off the coast of the CrimeanPeninsula. Photograph: Alexei Nikolsky/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/Reuters

Speaking over the radio while still underwater, Putin said he hoped the discovery would shed light on Russia’s ‘historical development’. “83m is a pretty substantial depth... It was interesting,” Putin told journalists in televised comments after the dive. Photograph: Reuters

The photo of Putin in the pod, gave rise to several comments, including many saying that Putin looked like a Bond villain. What do you say? Reckon there’s a resemblance. Photograph: Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin walks after submerging into the waters of the Black Sea inside a research bathyscaphe as part of an expedition near Sevastopol. Off the vessel, he was greeted by Prime Minister Medvedev. Photograph: Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with people after his dive. This underwater dive adds to his list of eye-catching stunts, that include flying with cranes, riding topless on horseback and darting an endangered tiger. Photograph: Alexei Nikolsky/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/Reuters