Latest Macho Act For Putin: Firefighting

(Aug. 11) -- He's swum across icy rivers, ridden bare-chested through the wilderness and gunned down runaway tigers. Now Vladimir Putin has further raised his reputation as the world's No. 1 authoritarian action man by launching a one-man war on the wildfires currently raging in central Russia.

In an attempt to boost the morale of the smoke-choked nation, the macho Russian prime minister took to the air Tuesday in a firefighting Be-200 plane for an aerial tour of the blaze-blighted Ryazan province, some 125 miles southeast of Moscow. Putin began the trip in the passenger compartment but wasn't content to sit back and watch the motherland reduced to smoldering ash. So partway through the flight, the ex-KGB agent -- who also holds a black belt in judo -- took the co-pilot's seat and prepared to dump 24 tons of water on a forest fire.

Cameras on the plane caught the moment Putin hit the release button, after which, according to The Moscow Times, he asked the pilot, "Was that OK?" Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Be-200's captain replied: "A direct hit!"


The prime minister will have to fly a lot more missions, though, before he can take credit for putting out the firestorm, which has so far scorched more than 3,131 square miles of Russian soil. It's still burning in 671 square miles of forest and peat land and has caused more than $15 billion in damage.

But if any world leader can extinguish the inferno, Putin can. Here's a list of past heroics that explain why the prime minister is more than man enough for the job.

He's a wilderness man
Sets of vacation snaps released in 2007 and 2009 showed the Russian leader on holiday in Siberia, where he engaged in a raft of tough guy pursuits. The topless Putin -- who likes to flaunt his athletic physique, honed through daily weight training and swimming sessions -- was shown racing through a forest on horseback, fishing in a freezing river and strolling through the brush brandishing a rifle. Those pictures transformed the previously dour premier into a heartthrob for Russian housewives and gay men alike.

He's bested wild beasts
As well as being an all-round outdoorsy kind of guy, Putin is also a crack shot. During a September 2008 trip to the Far East of Siberia, a female Amur tiger supposedly rushed toward his camera crew. Of course, as they were with Putin, the team was never really in danger. He coolly grabbed a tranquilizer gun and shot down the sprinting big cat. As she dozed, Putin is said to have stroked the animal's cheek, saying, "She'll remember us." (Conveniently, no footage exists of the shooting, although there's plenty of the sleeping tiger).

He's a real-life Captain Nemo
Last August, Putin climbed into a mini-submarine and descended to the bottom of Siberia's Lake Baikal, the world's biggest and deepest body of fresh water. "The submergence is going excellently, and the scenery in the porthole is magnificent," he told reporters from the mile-deep lake bed. When he returned to the surface, one journalist asked if his next adventure would take him into space. "There is enough work on Earth," Putin replied.

That fantastic voyage came just a day after the prime minister had donned a wet suit and gone into the Pacific Ocean, where he tagged a Beluga whale named Dasha. Flaunting his softer side, Putin patted the whale and muttered, "Don't be angry" before helping scientists release the giant mammal.

He'd beat you in a fight
In 2008, the ex-president celebrated his 56th birthday with the release of a martial arts DVD showcasing the moves that won him the title of judo champion in his home city of St. Petersburg. Putin instructed viewers on how they could win on the judo mat -- and possibly in politics: "In a bout, compromises and concessions are permissible, but only in one case -- if it is for victory."