Russia’s Vladimir Putin goes fishing — shirtless — in Siberia
Reporting from MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin has gone spearfishing in southern Siberia’s mountains, the latest outdoor exploit for the adventure-loving Russian leader.
Video released Saturday by Russian state television showed Putin steering an inflatable boat and fishing bare-chested with a rod, accompanied by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other officials.
“It’s a good catch,†a beaming Putin said, displaying his spoils.
During the trip earlier this week across pristine mountain rivers and lakes in a forested area near the border with Mongolia, Putin also tried for the first time to fish underwater with a spear gun.
Video showed Putin moving underwater in a swimsuit and shooting a pike. “It’s very sly and cautious,†the president said of his prey after getting out.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that the president spent two hours pursuing a pike before finally getting it.
The Russian leader has frequently offered macho images of his sporting life, which has included flying combat jets, riding horses, scuba diving and riding a horse bare-chested. A longtime judo master, he now regularly plays ice hockey.
In other televised escapades portraying Putin the outdoorsman, he accompanied a flock of cranes on a motorized hang glider, shot a tiger with a tranquilizer gun, tracked polar bears and released leopards into a wildlife sanctuary.
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