MAKE A DATE WITH PUTIN

Vladimir Putin cuddles kittens, strips down to lycra wetsuit and poses in military garb for bizarre 2017 calendar

The Russian president tries to maintain his hardman image for the newly-released calendar

Danny Collins

Published: 9:58, 17 Oct 2016
Updated: 23:44, 17 Oct 2016

VLADIMIR Putin has brushed off fears of a new Cold War between Moscow and the West - by releasing a cringe-worthy calendar.

Russia's strongman president is the subject of the bizarre 2017 almanac.

A bizarre new calendar released in Russia sees president Vladimir Putin pictured in a series of staged poses

Among the more amusing is a snap of the 64-year-old donning a skin-tight lycra wetsuit

March sees the Russian president showing off his softer side by gently cuddling a kitten

But hardman Vlad is back again by April, donning his military gear to sit at the controls of a fighter jet

It comes complete on glossy paper and features Vlad in a variety of poses.

The 64-year-old iron man might be the cause of fear in the West, but he shows off his cuddly side in one of the images, gently holding a kitten.

Other pages see Putin return to his hardman image as he wears camouflage and sits in a tree, on horseback and at the controls of a fighter jet.

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And in one of the more revealing numbers, the ex-KGB spy strips down to a skin-tight lycra wet-suit as he goes for a dip.

BBC Russia correspondent Steve Rosenberg revealed the cringe-worthy calendar on Twitter.

Many met it with a mix of emotions.

And he kept the camouflage on to drive a military vehicle in another snap from the 2017 calendar

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg tweeted a video of the bizarre calendar, much to the amusement of his followers

Vlad takes to the skies in a microlight in this snap - as a large bird struts across the shot

Putin revisits his KGB days in a pair of dark glasses and a sharp suit for October

And he shows off his spiritual side by lighting a candle alongside a group of Orthodox bishops

One wrote: "I'm torn between finding that disturbing and vaguely wanting one."

While another joked: "I'm waiting to see what Kim Jong Un's is like before I order mine."

Putin is famous for using staged photoshoots to portray himself as a strongman.

The most notorious was a picture of him riding topless on horseback.

The Russian President works hard to cultivate his strongman image, most famously in this snap of him riding a horse topless — The Russian President works hard to cultivate his strongman image, most famously in this snap of him riding a horse toplessCredit: Polaris / eyevine

He is often snapped posing with assault rifles and weaponry

Putin is a fan of judo, and is often photographed throwing his opponents to the floor — Putin is a fan of judo, and is often photographed throwing his opponents to the floorCredit: Getty Images

Putin caught off guard by a topless protester in Germany

He has also been snapped performing throws during judo bouts.

Russia is currently at loggerheads with the US over his support of embattled Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Relations between the two deteriorated dramatically after an aid convoy was bombed on its way to Aleppo, ending a fragile ceasefire.

The US blamed Moscow for the attack.

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