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Russian President Vladimir Putin was photographed yesterday wearing high-heeled shoes among students in Moscow.
The president, who is 170 cm (5 feet 7 inches) tall, was seen in a publicity stunt on Vorobyovy Gory for the Day of Russian Students.
Putin and his propaganda ministers have carefully maintained his public image as president, though readers soon caught sight of him adding an extra inch with raised shoes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin poses for a photo with students from Lomonosov Moscow State University as he visits the Lomonosov research group on Vorobyovy Gory in Moscow.
Image-conscious Vladimir Putin exposes his Achilles heel during photos with students in Moscow
President Putin has been careful to control his image since he came to power in 1999.
American historian Timothy Snyder saying that Vladimir Putin was ‘seen as the closest match’ to the fictional Soviet hero stierlitz in the polls, a national favorite and something of a Russian James Bond, during his rise in the late 1990s.
Since then, Putin has been careful to curate his macho image, being photographed topless on horseback and carrying rifles.
In 2015, the Express reported that a Kremlin member said that no one could be taller than the president in official photos.
The source told the newspaper: “That is why his bodyguards are always shorter than him, to give the impression that Putin is a tall person.”
The Economist explained in 2020 : ‘In politics, height matters.’
The magazine reported research showing that, on average, the tallest politicians outperformed their rivals in polls.
This was attributed to taller people enjoying higher self-esteem, on average, and being perceived as healthier, more intelligent and authoritative.
Vladimir Putin (2-R) stands next to Lomonosov Moscow State University Rector Viktor Sadovnichy (R) and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin (2-L) during their visit to Lomonosov Moscow State University during Day of Russian Students ‘Tatiana’s Day’ in Moscow, Russia
Vladimir Putin pictured topless riding a horse while on vacation in southern Siberia in 2009
Putin shows off his judo skills at the Top Athletic School in Saint Petersburg, also in 2009.
Russia has been careful to censor negative portrayals of the president.
According to The Guardian, Russian lawyers supposedly planned a lawsuit against Warner Bros over apparent similarities between Putin and Dobby the Elf from Harry Potter.
54% of children, responding to a survey on the CBBC website, said they agreed that Putin and Dobby had “probably” been separated at birth.
In 2017, the Russian president also made it illegal to share a meme of him portraying himself as a ‘gay clown’.
The banned image was then called “extremist propaganda.”
Those caught retweeting the image could be fined 3,000 rubles (then $53) or spend 15 days in jail.
Alexander Tsvetkov was loaded with incitement to hate or enmity by sharing multiple images on your social media account.
The court said the image, according to Tsvetkov, hinted at “an alleged non-standard sexual orientation of the Russian president.”
Tsvetkov was committed to a psychiatric institution for the misdemeanor.
LGBT rights activists used the meme in the media to protest the lack of protection afforded to the community in Russia.
Russia’s Ministry of Justice banned more than 4,000 images, which also included anti-Semitic and racist content, and depicted Putin as a Nazi.
Russia also banned a popular image showing him alongside Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in full make-up holding flowers.
Putin, obsessed with the images, banned his depiction as a ‘gay clown’ and 4,000 other images
The image shows Putin “with his eyes and lips made up” and suggests “the alleged non-standard sexual orientation of the President of the Russian Federation,” according to the prohibited list.