Gay Russians claim bare-chested Putin as one of their own
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html? in_article_id=477089&in_page_id=1
When Vladimir Putin stripped down to the waist for the cameras, his muscled torso made headlines around the world.
And one week on, the ripples are still being felt in Russia, where he has become a sex symbol, the inspiration for men to start pumping iron, and the new darling of the gay lobby.
Few could have predicted the explosion of gossip and speculation that followed the publication of the pictures, taken while the president holidayed with Prince Albert II of Monaco in the Siberian mountains.
Yesterday, the Russian mass-market newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda published a huge colour photo of the barechested president, under the headline “Be Like Putin”.
The picture illustrated a guide to the exercises needed to build up a torso like that of the Russian leader.
The paper reported that women who visited its website posted comments on Putin’s “vigorous torso” and said they “were screaming with delight and showering him with compliments.”
Russian gay chatrooms and blogs were particularly intrigued by the photos.
Some claimed that Putin, by stripping to his waist, was pleading for more tolerance of homosexuality in Russia - where gays and lesbians are for the most part forced to remain closeted.
One satirical photo circulating on the internet jokingly compared the fishing and riding adventure to the movie Brokeback Mountain, a love story about gay cowboys.
The 54-year- old leader, who is married with two daughters, has long cultivated an image of machismo.
Well-known as a downhill skier and black belt in judo, he has appeared on national television driving a truck, operating a train, sailing on a submarine and co-piloting a fighter jet.
In contrast to his predecessor Boris Yeltsin, notorious for his drunken antics, Putin has established an image as energetic, sober and sharp-witted.
Political commentators have been trying to guess what kind of message these latest pictures might send, given that he has insisted he plans to step down at the end of his second presidential term next year - as required by the constitution.
One Russian radio talk show host speculated that the photos were meant to enhance Putin’s personal appeal to voters - a strong signal that he does not plan to relinquish power.
But Stanislav Belkovsky, head of the country’s National Strategy Institute think-tank, said the images were nothing more than an effort to reassure Russians that their leader can relax, and really is preparing for retirement.
Yevgeny Volk, who heads the Heritage Foundation’s Moscow office, said the political elite increasingly views Mr Putin as a lame-duck leader and that half-naked photos only strengthen the impression that he should not be taken seriously.
One Russian radio talk show host speculated that the photos were meant to enhance Putin’s personal appeal to voters - a strong signal that he does not plan to relinquish power.<<<<
Chavez in Venezuela got the laws changed, Putin will too.
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ROFL!
Huuuuuge storms in Chicago - gotta sign off!