Wild facts about Vladimir Putin
As world leaders go, Russian President Vladimir Putin is unique, to say the least. The consummate outdoorsman is as famous for epic staged photo ops as international politics. In fact, you won't believe some of these photos or facts about his life until you see them with your own eyes.
On October 7, 2015, for example, Putin celebrated his 63rd birthday by taking part in a gala hockey game in Sochi, Russia, alongside former NHL stars and state officials.
Putin plays hockey, wins
As one might expect, Putin's team -- stacked with world-renowned players, like former Vancouver Canucks star Pavel Bure -- won 15-10. The Russian President himself knocked in seven of those goals.
Russian news agencies were quick to praise Putin's athletic performance. Sputnik even declared his play, "an indication that his strong physique shows no sign of weakening."
Putin lifting weights
On August 30, 2015, state news agency Tass released both video and still images of Putin working out in his gym... and they're amazing.
Putin & Medvedev at the gym
The newly released exercise footage happens to actually be from an official meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
They simply held that meeting in the gym at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in Sochi, Russia... Because why not pump up, when you're discussing ways to pump up your country?
Putin & Medvedev meat
After lifting weights together, August 30, 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had a diplomatic breakfast, for which they roasted their own meats.
Tea for two
Then, Putin and Medvedev toasted with tea cups (as all strong men do), concluding their official state meeting.
Luckily, these photos of Russia's head men talking politics while lifting weights in matching sweatsuits are only the latest batch of wild Putin photos to hit the internet...
Karate Kid
Putin holds an advanced black belt in judo; a martial art he has said he began practicing as a teenager to maintain his place in the pecking order, when some of his peers began hitting puberty before him.
Marathon call
Putin hosts an annual call-in show on Russian television. This year's "Conversation With Vladimir Putin" took place on April 16, 2015 and lasted four hours.
A record three million Russians called in with questions.
Always a quirky event, this year's highlights included a 4-year-old girl asking Putin how much he sleeps, and a woman requesting that Putin intervene in a marriage in which one spouse wants a dog and the other does not.
Lake Vladimir
Ever the man's man, Putin swims in freezing lakes for fun.
Here, he shows off his butterfly stroke in a lake in southern Siberia's Tuva region, August 3, 2009.
The topless horseman
Putin enjoys horseback riding shirtless.
Bait
...and fishing shirtless.
Stripped down Siberia
So, there are many pictures of Russian President Vladimir Putin -- without a shirt on -- around the Russian wilderness.
Eye of the tiger
Putin once "saved" a TV crew from a tiger attack by shooting the exotic cat with a tranquilizer dart.
The incident occurred when Putin, then the prime minister, visited Siberia's Ussuri reserve in 2008 to observe the ways in which researchers monitor animals in the wild. A large Siberian Tiger supposedly escaped and charged a nearby camera crew.
There are varying reports as to why the cat was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but Russian media immediately reported that Putin heroically sprung into action and shot the cat with his tranquilizer gun saving the lives of many.
Here, he holds the sedated tiger's head as scientists put a collar with a satellite tracker on the animal.
Birthday cub
Later that year, Putin received a tiger cub as a birthday present. You know, as you do.
Flying V
In 2012, Vladimir took to the skies in a small motorized hang glider in an attempt to help endangered Siberian cranes begin their migration routes.
The Russian President -- notorious for his hard stances on international politics -- certainly has a soft spot for animals.
Beary scientific
Putin also once shot a polar bear in the name of science. In fact, here he is attaching a tracking collar to the 507-pound animal in 2010.
Taking a break
In 2013, Putin and his wife of 30 years, Lyudmila, held a press conference to announce their upcoming divorce, during the intermission of a ballet they were attending.
He loves chicks
Putin revealed that he had a girlfriend during one of his annual televised call-ins, and has been linked to several Russian celebrities over the years, including spy-turned-model Anna Chapman and gold medalist Alina Kabayeva. The latter, a Russian gymnast, is rumored to have even had Putin's love child.
Locked and loaded
Vladimir Putin knows his way around a gun.
Hunting season
Putin has been a hunter since childhood. He grew up poor and spent most of his spare time as a child hunting rats in the hallways of the apartment building where his family lived.
Whale of a day
Here, he is pictured on a motorboat moments before shooting an endangered grey whale with a crossbow... again, for science.
Need for speed
In 2010, Putin drove a Formula One race car and reached its maximum speed of 150 mph, before ultimately spinning out and skidding to a stop.
Big Papa
Putin has allegedly amassed a huge personal net-worth of around $200 billion.
From Russia with love
Putin allegedly loves spy novels. Perhaps that's because he spent sixteen years in the KGB, recruiting agents to spy against the West.
Puppy love
Putin loves dogs and owns many, occasionally even bringing them along to political talks. Here, he is seen rolling around in the snow with pets 'Buffy' and 'Yume' at his residence Novo-Ogariovo outside Moscow.
Bulgarian shepherd dog 'Buffy' was presented to Putin by his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov while Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda offered Putin the puppy 'Yume' as a gift during the G20 in Mexico in June.
Dog eat dog
In 2007, Putin reportedly used his black Labrador 'Koni' to intimidate German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is terrified of dogs after being bitten by one as a child.
Father Russia
Putin has two daughters, but has managed to keep their lives top secret. As a result, they are almost never seen.
Russian Tea Room
He once hosted a lavish tea party at the Kremlin for an 8-year-old girl, named Sonya. The little girl was there on a day trip from the Federal Research and Clinical Center of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Immunology, where she was a patient.
Comic side
Rounding out his macho man image nicely, Putin is featured as a real-life superhero in the online comic "Superputin" by Sergei Kalenik.
In one strip, he is seen dismantling a bomb before it blows up a bus. In another, he singlehandedly takes down an army of zombies. So if "The Walking Dead" ever becomes reality, you know who to call.
