Russian leader Vladimir Putin has inadvertently become a gay icon after stripping down to the waist on a fishing trip.The pictures were taken while the President was on holiday with Prince Albert of Monaco in the Siberian mountains.
They have had a huge impact in Russia, turning the president into a sex symbol, an inspiration for men to start pumping iron, and the new darling of the gay lobby.Newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda published a huge colour photo of the bare-chested President, under the headline Be Like Putin.
The picture illustrated a guide to the exercises needed to build up a torso like that of the Russian leader. The paper reported that women who visited its website had posted comments on Mr Putin's "vigorous torso" and said they "were screaming with delight and showering him with compliments."
Russian gay chatrooms and blogs were also particularly intrigued by the photos.
One satirical photo circulating on the internet compared the fishing and riding adventure with gay cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain.
The 54-year-old leader, who is married with two daughters, has cultivated a macho image.THe is a keen downhill skier, has a black belt in judo, and has appeared on television driving a truck, operating a train, sailing on a submarine and co-piloting a fighter jet.
