Why is Vladimir Putin Arm Wrestling and Trying to Bend a Frying Pan?

You might have to try hard to suppress the laughter that will surely begin to bubble over as you read the latest about 58 year old Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin.

Putin is allegedly trying to show off his physical prowess by partaking in a strongman competition at a pro-Kremlin youth camp where he attempted to scale an alpinist climbing wall without safety gear, partake in an arm-wrestling match with a fellow nearly twice his size and bend a frying pan with his bare hands. He was reportedly unsuccessful with the latter.

What's more, the chino-clad Russian PM tried to sound tough too, reportedly calling the U.S. a parasite on the global economy.

The Telegraph gives us more into the ludicrous:

The 58-year-old Russian prime minister put in his latest display of physical prowess at a Kremlin youth camp 230 miles northwest of Moscow in front of thousands of patriotic young Russians who are encouraged by organisers each year to put the strongman politician on a pedestal. Dressed in chinos and a light-coloured striped shirt, Mr Putin talked tough too, calling the United States a parasite on the global economy.

But it was his physical feats that seemed to wow his young audience more than anything.

Photographs of the event, which took place on Monday, showed Mr Putin trying to crush a frying pan with his bare hands as young admirers looked on. It is not clear whether he succeeded.

Another image of a man many Russians regard as the father of the nation showed him shimmying up an artificial climbing wall spider man-style without a safety harness or helmet. Mr Putin leapt off the wall before reaching the top, jokingly muttering something about cowardice.

Other images showed he had adjudicated an arm wrestling contest between two young men, taken part in a contest himself, and looked on as a weight lifter balanced a barbell loaded with heavy weight plates on his back.

But Putin's attention-seeking antics might be an omen of what's in store for the PM as many speculate he will contest a presidential election next March. And if a campaign video released by the ruling United Russia party this week called “We are building a new Russia. V. Putin” is any indication, Putin may very well be considering it. The campaign video, by the way, reportedly casts Putin as the architect of a most awe-inspiring post-Soviet renaissance.

But the Telegraph tell us more:

He has also emerged as the key figure in a new political movement called the All-Russian People’s Front whose stated aim is to revitalise the flagging fortunes of the ruling party. Young female supporters have done their bit for his publicity campaign too with bikini-clad young girls organising a free car wash in Moscow in his honour.

Meanwhile, an affiliated young female fan group, calling itself “the Army of Putin,” has released a raunchy video challenging girls to rip off their tops or lay into his critics in a show of support.

It is a story filled with narcissism and perhaps a touch of the bizarre. Watch the video below: