Images of Vladimir Putin enjoying Siberian summer prompt imitations online – some more serious than othersThousands of Russians have paid homage to Vladimir Putin, some with tongue in cheek, after the Russian president was photographed topless enjoying the Siberian summer. Pavel Durov, the founder of the social networking sites VKontakte and Telegram, kicked off the #PutinShirtlessChallenge with a picture of himself. Some took the opportunity to show off their chiselled torsos more seriously than others:Nick (@lmnprt) I answer the call @durov #PutinShirtlessChallenge pic.twitter.com/DnVm0MXtqETino Febre (@zengolfer0819) I was prepared to go above @darov #PutinShirtlessChallenge but my wife made me put my pants back on. Дмитрий Гудков (@gudkovd) Нет, ну слушайте, как-то вяло идет #PutinShirtlessChallenge Надо поддержать, я считаю. He was ridiculed in independent media in 2011 over staged photos of him emerging from the sea with two ancient Greek urns.

Source: The Guardian August 16, 2017 11:43 UTC