Putin’s Road Trip

PutinPumpingGas082710.jpgFresh from a whale chase near the Kamchatka Peninsula, Putin is off again on another publicity stunt adventure: a 2,000 km journey across Siberia in a yellow Lada – followed by an entourage of journalists, of course. The journey, he says, is meant to celebrate Russia’s recently completed highway, the first to connect the entire country from east to west. It’s also huge publicity for Lada-maker Avtovaz. Putin has been really playing up his action-man image of late, and speculations abound that he is already laying the groundwork for the 2012 presidential election.

(Photo credit: AFP)