Vladimir Putin's action hero persona in photos

Vladimir Putin's stagey action shots put the Russian leader in more macho costumes than a fleet of GI Joes. This Atlantic Big Feature photo-series catalogs the many moods of the ex-KGB spook. To quote Kottke:

Vladimir Putin rides a horse, drives a race car, tags a tiger, does judo, goes on archeological dives, looks at leopards, stands on a boat, arm wrestles, attempts to bend a frying pan, rides a snowmobile, flies a plane, hugs a dog, rides a motorcycle, looks at a bear, swims the butterfly, signs autographs, shoots a whale with a crossbow, plays the piano, feeds a moose, talks with a biker gang, steers a boat, walks through brush with a gun, sits in a tank, blacksmiths, plays hockey, hugs a horse, dives almost a mile in a submersible, and adjusts sunglasses.

Vladimir Putin, Action Man

(via Kottke)

(Image: downsized, cropped thumbnail from "Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin holds a judo training session," Alexei Druzhinin/AFP/Getty Images)