There is another side in the Putin story. The ex-KGB man has been in the news for his physical fitness and love of sports.
Once, when he took of his shirt while holidaying with Price Albert of Monaco in the Siberian mountains and showed an amazed nation the extent of his fitness, the images quickly became hot property. And part of Internet lore.
In the nature of media all over, the tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda published a huge photograph of the half-bare Prez on its front page with the headline 'Be like Putin', along with a series of exercises that promise a torso like his. Soon after, the newspaper's web site was peppered with appreciative e-mails from women.
But there are times when the media crosses its limits. And pays for it too! Like Russian tabloid Moskovsky Korrespondent had to eventually shut shop after it published a spicy gossip about the President. It reported that the 55-year-old was 'planning' to wed former Olympic rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabayeva, 25, on June 15.
It also claimed that the Russian leader had divorced his wife Lyudmila back in February, although on March 2 they were publicly seen together at the polling station to cast their vote for the presidential election.
Obviously, who would dare to take on -- arguably -- the strongest man of Europe?
Image: Putin with his successor Dmitry Medvedev attend the inauguration festivities at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 7. Dmitry Medvedev was sworn in as Russia's third president since the fall of the Soviet Union at a Kremlin ceremony that stressed the continued authority of his predecessor.
Photograph: Dmitry Astakhov/AFP/Getty Images
Also read: Is this is the new Mrs Putin?
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