Vladimir Putin offered himself a weekend in the Siberian taiga, driving an all-terrain vehicle and walking in the snow accompanied by his defense minister, the Kremlin said on Sunday.
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Dressed in dark down jackets and bare heads, Russian President, 68, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, 65, took a walk through snow-covered forests, crossing a rope bridge and observing wild animals binoculars, according to television images broadcast by the Kremlin.
The two men then visited a workshop in the taiga where Mr. Choïgou showed Mr. Poutine what he tinkered with wood in his spare time.
“The president takes walks with the Minister of Defense Sergei Choïgou” in Siberia, the Kremlin said laconically in a press release, publishing a dozen photos of this trip, without however specifying the place where they were taken .
In several images, the president and minister appear in brown winter costumes decorated with white fur and valenki – traditional Russian felt boots -, eating around an outdoor wooden table.
They then take a ride in an all-terrain vehicle, Vladimir Poutin, all smiles, having taken the driver’s seat.
The Russian president has cultivated his image of a strong man for years, regularly displaying his good physical shape.
He has already shown himself in recent years in the Siberian taiga, indulging in spearfishing, piloting a boat and sunbathing topless.
He has also been seen diving in a submarine at the bottom of Lake Baikal, piloting a Formula 1, flying in a bomber or neutralizing a tiger.