I’ve seen some pretty cringeworthy Instagram photos atop Lion’s Head and Table Mountain (you know who you are), but Russian President Vladimir Putin consistently manages to outdo them all.

If I had to caption that photo above, I’d go with “Not much, just chillin’ here on top of this rocky outcrop, and you?”

Putin’s birthday calendars are always a highlight, but ahead of his 67th birthday yesterday (mazeltov, Vlad), he headed into the Siberian mountains with a photographer.

As you do, when you have enough money and political power to ensure you don’t have to force your other half to snap photos of you in various poses.

So what did Vlad get up to? Here’s the Telegraph:

…Mr Putin drove an off-road vehicle through a forest with defence minister Sergei Shoigu and flew in a helicopter over jagged peaks, sweeping forests and a dramatic river canyon.

Wearing sunglasses and carrying a large wooden staff, the president hiked up a mountain overlooking the Yenisei river at an altitude of “almost 2,000 metres”.

“We’ve climbed above the clouds,” he remarked, gazing into the distance.

He then used a quote from some old philosopher that he found on Google, and posted the photos to Instagram.

No, he didn’t, but he did have a darn good time:

He and Mr Shoigu gathered lingonberries and mushrooms, chuckling at one with a pine cone caught on top, and picnicked around a campfire.

“Chuckling at one with a pine cone caught on top” – classic murderous dictator.

Let’s go to the video:

We eagerly await the shirtless birthday calendar.

[source:telegraph]