Vladimir Putin has long utilized imagery of himself as a hyper-masculine figure in his attempts to muster support from the Russian people. While this is not entirely uncommon in world politics, Putin's attempts to appear 'macho' are not so successful in terms of international politics. Putin's shirtless endeavors, televised workouts, and involvement in stereo-typically masculine events has led to Putin becoming more of a joke to citizens of other countries.
While it is true that some of his antics could be seen as comical, the fact remains that he is a very powerful leader. Images of Putin detract from the serious nature of the man himself, but it is important to remember the power and control this man possesses.
Yeah, it's definitely interesting to consider how much effort and energy is put into maintaining Putin's hypermasculine image - it must be working, or his administration would not place so much focus on it. While Putin himself is taken as somewhat of a joke abroad, I think that his macho displays are representative and/or part of a larger stereotype about Russians being a hypermasculine people. (The stereotypes that we assign to Russian people, including drinking large quantities of vodka, surviving long winters, being generally brutal and corrupt, etc. conjure a pretty macho, tough image.) Whether he means it or not, Putin's whole macho act perfectly fulfills much of the outside world's stereotyped perceptions of Russia.
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