Vladimir Putin has been bolstering his action man image – this time with a display of scuba diving.
His latest pre-election photo opportunity took place at an ancient Greek Black Sea archaeology site.
Broadcast across Russia, footage of the high-profile publicity event showed the wetsuit-clad prime minister on the Taman Peninsula in the Krasnodar region.
In only his third-ever dive, Mr Putin swam to the bottom of the lake and brought up two ancient ceramic containers.
Underwater pictures showed the Russian premier uncovering two sixth-century Greek urns in front of the camera.
Putin cultivated an action-man image during his eight-year presidency.
He is still celebrated by the state media despite handing over the presidency to ally Dmitry Medvedev.
Since becoming prime minister, Mr Putin has continued to perform in a series of high-profile stunts, fuelling speculation that he plans to run for president in next year
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