MOSCOW — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin fired darts from a crossbow at a gray whale off Russia’s Far Eastern coast Wednesday in the latest in a series of man-vs.-nature stunts designed to cultivate the image of a macho leader.
Putin, holding his balance in a rubber boat being tossed around in choppy waters off the Kamchatka Peninsula, eventually hit the whale with a special arrow designed to collect skin samples.
“I hit it at the fourth try!” a beaming Putin, kitted out in black-and-orange waterproof suit and black beanie, yelled from the boat to a camera crew.
A biologist with him displayed the skin sample and said it would allow experts to determine where the whale came from.
When the boat skidded onto the beach, a bouyant Putin, 57, hopped off and made a beeline for waiting reporters. Clearly in his element, Putin replied jovially to a question as to whether the endeavor was dangerous.
“Living in general is dangerous,” he quipped. Asked why he got involved, he simply said, “Because I like it. I love the nature.”
In recent weeks, he has taken command of efforts to extinguish the wildfires that swept across much of western Russia and to help the thousands of people who lost their homes.
The message has been that it is Putin, rather than his junior co-leader President Dmitry Medvedev, who is equipped to look after Russia, its people and environment.
