普京潜水考古 再秀硬汉风采

俄罗斯总统普京近日乘红色小型潜水艇潜入波罗的海海底，探索一艘19世纪俄国沙皇时期的沉船残骸。这是他第三次入主克里姆林宫以来，为重塑形象所做的又一次努力。普京当天身穿黑夹克、蓝牛仔裤和白色运动鞋，登上有透明玻璃前罩的小型潜艇，潜入50米深的海底，大约20分钟以后，他微笑着潜出水面，并对俄罗斯地理学会的工作予以赞扬。

2011到2012年期间俄罗斯爆发的大规模游行示威活动一度使普京的民意支持率走低，为了重塑形象，普京曾多次展现“硬汉形象”。他曾潜入西伯利亚的贝加尔湖湖底，熄灭森林大火，还热衷于飚卡车。2011年，他戴着水下呼吸器在黑海潜水，并手举两件古代陶罐出水，不过克里姆林宫去年承认这是“刻意安排”的。此外，普京还曾驾驶飞机带领鹤群迁徙，用麻醉枪射击老虎，一度引起媒体热议甚至遭到嘲讽。

Russian President Vladimir Putin took to a red submersible on Monday to dive 50 meters and examine the wreck of a 19th century frigate, his latest stunt in 13 years of power to assert his carefully crafted action man image.

Putin, a 60-year-old former KGB spy more than a year into his third presidential term, is eager to boost his populist appeal to make up for the support lost among Russians following the largest wave of street protests against his rule in 2011-12.

In the past he has submerged in Russia's Lake Baikal, extinguished forest fires and hopped on massive racing trucks.

Wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and white sporting shoes, Putin sat comfortably in the capsule's glassed front and submerged into the Gulf of Finland to look at the wooden wreck.

He resurfaced smiling after some 20 minutes and praised the work of the Russian Geographic Society, which has been studying the sunken vessel, for honoring the memory of Russian sailors who perished in the sea, including during World War Two.

"We didn't really do such work before. I think the time has come now, we can finally do that in terms of financial and technical capabilities. The moral duty towards the Fatherland defenders goes without saying," said Putin, who managed to stay dry.

But in a sign of his changing fortunes, his stunts have increasingly drawn satire and he was ridiculed online as a troubled "alpha-crane" when he flew a deltaplane to lead the rare birds on their migration route last fall.

Putin was forced to admit earlier that a 2011 stunt in which he discovered an ancient amphorae at the bottom of the sea was a set up and he faced accusations that a seemingly wild tiger he tranquilized had been brought in from a zoo.

The disputed stunts echoed in the fresh criticism on Monday with one twitter account saying: "Putin at the Gogland Island will learn about underwater research... Amphorae and tiger cubs have already been delivered."