Russian president Vladimir Putin has taken his annual hike through the Siberian wilderness ahead of his birthday - this time with his shirt on.
He was seen climbing over the hills with a large stick and cruising around in an off-road buggy as he was joined by some of his top officials for a rare period of rest and relaxation.
The president's macho jaunts are renowned for displays of vigour, including riding shirtless on horseback in 2009 and showing off his butterfly stroke in a frigid lake in 2017.
This time around, Putin was joined by his defence minister Sergei Shoigu as they traversed the vast Taiga forest, taking in the mountains with binoculars and foraging for mushrooms and berries.
During one pit-stop, Shoigu uncovered a berry bush. 'Plant it in the Moscow Region. You can plant it at your dacha in the Moscow Region,' Putin told his minister.
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At another resting place, the pair made a camp fire and ate while looking over the vast expanse and the Yenisei River.
The pair ascended to some 6,500ft, according to the TASS news agency, Putin said: 'High above the clouds. Much higher than the clouds. We have climbed higher than the clouds.'
Putin turns 67 today and his spokesman told Russian press, Putin 'plans to spend his birthday in the great outdoors with his family and close friends.'
In previous years, the President has also been joined by Shoigu while fishing, shooting and roaming across the Siberian wilderness.
Appearing to make a point about the climate, Putin remarked to his minister, 'We need to make the same air and water in Moscow.'
He added: 'In any way, this is what we must be committed to.'
The Russian leader has frequently offered macho images of his sporting life, which has included flying combat jets, riding horses, scuba-diving and riding a horse bare-chested. A longtime judo master, he now regularly plays ice hockey.
In other televised escapades underlining his love for nature, Putin accompanied a flock of cranes on a motorized hang glider, shot a tiger with a tranquilizer gun, tracked polar bears and released leopards into a wildlife sanctuary.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
