President Vladimir Putin has landed a pike weighing 21 kilos on a recent weekend trip to Siberia, the Kremlin says, in the latest leisure stunt by the Russian strongman.
The Kremlin said that Putin was joined on the trip by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, in a clear bid to prove Russia's top two remain unified despite reports of growing strains.
State television showed Putin laughing in astonishment as he pulled the massive pike out of the water, with the fish then having the dubious honour of being kissed on its gills by the Kremlin chief.
"It was very interesting relaxation. Putin and Medvedev socialised very warmly, talked and went swimming," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the state ITAR-TASS news agency on Friday.
Several pictures published by the Kremlin also showed Putin fishing in his now traditional summer pose of naked torso and dark sunglasses.
The television pictures did not show Medvedev doing any fishing but instead standing on the bow of a motorboat taking pictures with a telephoto lens.
Peskov said the "very beautiful" pictures taken by Medvedev had now been put on the Kremlin website.
Media coverage of Putin's leisure activities is carefully managed by the Kremlin to cultivate his image as a tough nature-loving action man, which his minders believe still appeals to many Russians.
Earlier this month, Putin dived in a small submersible to inspect a shipwreck at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
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