A new Russian calendar now allows its buyers to have a shirtless Vladimir Putin hanging around their homes all year long.
One of the photos of the "All Year With the President of Russia," on sale in bookshops across Russia, features a picture of a shirtless Putin fishing, reports
The Daily Telegraph.
Other images show him working out, wearing military attire, and signing autographs for children, but the leader also shows his softer side, points out the
BBC's Steve Rosenberg, by showing him sniffing a flower and cuddling up to a puppy.
"Dogs and I have very warm feelings for one another," he's quoted as saying in the caption with the puppy. And while sniffing the flower, Putin is quoted as saying that he likes "all Russian women. I think Russian women are the most talented and the most beautiful."
The calendar was released a day after a new men's cologne, "Leaders Number One," went on sale in Moscow, for 6,000 rubles a bottle, or about $85 in American dollars, reports The Telegraph.
The cologne comes in a black bottle with a profile picture of Putin, and includes the caption "Inspired by Vladimir Putin" written in English.
Vladislav Rekunov, who designed the scent, said it is "warm, textured, rounded," and told the Russian media at Moscow's GUM department store Thursday that the cologne, like Putin, is "at one soft, and at the same time, firm."
There are already plans to release a women's version of the cologne next year. Russian media said the scent smells like pines and fir cones, but some critics said it smells more like "gunpowder, blood and oil," reports The Telegraph.
Putin's popularity is growing wildly in Russia, reports The Telegraph, with his image being constantly shown on t-shirts and other souvenirs, and there are rap songs praising his manliness playing on Russia's radios.
But there is also a cult of personality growing for the late dictator Josef Stalin, whose popularity is also growing. If they don't want a shirtless Putin calendar, there are also Stalin calendars on sale for 2016.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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