Vladimir Putin gym photos released in bid to lift approval rating

The Kremlin has released pictures of Russian president Vladimir Putin working out at the gym with prime minister Dmitrty Medvedev – images apparently aimed at shoring up Putin’s rugged, masculine image as his popularity dips.

Wearing a white T-shirt, tracksuit trousers and running shoes, Putin is shown on muscle-building apparatus in a publicity stunt that recalled previous shots of him shirtless while riding a horse; flying a supersonic jet and hunting a tiger.

A workout with the President pic.twitter.com/IyQvFgXz0O

— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) August 30, 2015

Putin’s approval ranking has been dented by a sluggish economy and free-falling rouble, whose value has halved since last year due to a decline in the oil price and Western sanction over Moscow’s role in the Ukraine crisis.

Видимо, вдохновившись вчерашними боями без правил, Путин и Медведев решили в воскресенье тоже потренироваться. pic.twitter.com/zJDubcMig0

— Дмитрий Смирнов (@dimsmirnov175) August 30, 2015

After their workout at Putin’s Black Sea residence near Sochi, the two politicians were shown on television grilling meat and having tea, adding to the healthy and wholesome picture.

Putin’s rating remains very high by Western standards. A poll published on Friday in business daily Vedomosti by the Public Opinion Foundation, showed 72% of Russians would have voted for Putin in August, down from 76% in May.

According to polling organisation the Levada Centre, Putin’s approval rating was 61% in November 2013, the lowest since he was elected president in 2000, but it surged above 80% early last year.