(Business Insider)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is keen to portray himself as a patriotic strongman who will lead his country to greatness on the world stage.
To achieve this, he's taken part in various over-the-top, macho photo ops for his country's state-run media, many of which are reportedly his idea.
Putin hopes these images, cultivated since he became president in 1999, will "create connections" with the people of Russia, said Fiona Hill, who wrote a biography of the Russian president.
However, many of them don't really stand up to scrutiny — scroll down to read more about Putin's great feats, which are not what they seem. Read More