#PutinShirtlessChallenge: ripped Russians heed call for topless torsos

Thousands 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. There were only two rules, said Durov: “No Photoshop, no pumping. Otherwise you are not an alpha.”

Men, women and children across Russia and elsewhere answered the call from Durov, who is reported to be living abroad after repeated clashes with the authorities.

Some took the opportunity to show off their chiselled torsos more seriously than others:

Others lined themselves up next to their president so their followers could make a direct comparison:

Dmitry Gudkov, a politician, also joined in, posting a photo and reminding his followers that there were “still torsos in Russian villages”.

Putin’s press team are renowned for releasing macho photos from his summer excursions and gym workouts, all part of efforts to cultivate an image of a man fit and ready to lead Russia.

On this summer’s two-day excursion in the remote Tuva area of southern Siberia, the president “indulged in underwater fishing, piloted … motor boats” and went “quad riding in the mountains”, according to the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Putin has previously been photographed flipping a judo opponent, riding a horse topless and swimming butterfly in a cold Siberian lake, the latter a stunt that inspired this tribute:

An Instagram account, Putinspiration, matches pictures demonstrating the president’s physical prowess to exercise motivation tips with a political twist:

Putin’s stunts haven’t always found favour outside of his target audience. He was ridiculed in independent media in 2011 over staged photos of him emerging from the sea with two ancient Greek urns.