Russian President Vladimir Putin gets back to nature in the Siberian hills on his summer holiday
ADVERTISEMENTThe Kremlin released several official photographs and a video showing Russian President Vladimir Putin taking a hiking holiday in Siberia with his defence minister and the head of the Federal Security Service.
The photographs show the 65-year-old Putin in a khaki outfit and hat, carrying binoculars and trekking poles, hiking in forested mountains and enjoying a boat ride on the Yenisei river.
Putin wandered through the mountains, forests and protected areas in the Tuva region of southern Siberia while collecting berries and wild mushrooms.
Previous outdoor snapshots of Putin on holiday, including images of him fishing and sunbathing shirtless, appear intended to demonstrate his robust physical health and vigor as he wrestles with the affairs of state.
In one image, Putin and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu are studying a coniferous sapling, ready for planting.
In another, Putin and FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov stand in a forest clearing against a backdrop of forested mountains.
Other pictures show Putin at the summit of a mountain, taking a boat ride, and talking to the head of the Sayano-Shushenski Nature Reserve.
