A topless religious ceremony is Putin’s perfect election-year photo-op

Vladimir Putin took part in an annual Russian Orthodox custom by wading through the frigid waters of a frozen lake today, a few hundred miles north of Moscow. State media looked on, Reuters reports, at his celebration of the Epiphany.

While the Russian president hasn’t made a habit of doing this ritual publicly in the past, the Washington Post notes that in an election year where approval of Putin’s government has hit record lows, his best option is to play the hits. In Putin’s case, that’s religiosity intertwined with statecraft, and outdoorsy, bare-chested feats of strength.

Russian President Vladimir Putin walks to take a dip in the water during Orthodox Epiphany celebrations at Lake Seliger.

Russian President Vladimir Putin croses himself as he takes a dip in the water during Orthodox Epiphany celebrations at Lake Seliger, Russia on Jan. 19.

Russian President Vladimir Putin walks out of a hole in the ice after taking a dip in the freezing waters of Lake Seliger.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why most scientists don't care about these incredible UFO videos

Image
If you've been online recently, you've probably seen this. This is one of two clips released by the Department of Defense. Both videos show a thermal image of an unidentified flying object. The videos have been widely shared and scrutinized. A lot of people think this is the first real evidence that extraterrestrials exist, and that they've visited us here on Earth. There's just one thing. Most people in the scientific community don't think these videos prove anything. People have been claiming to see UFOs for decades. Countless videos purporting to show alien aircraft have been popping up since the invention of film. But this video is unique. It was released by the Department of Defense who found the video noteworthy enough to study and release. Until 2012, the DOD says it ran a secret "Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program." The program was funded by $22 million dollars worth of "black money." These are funds the Pentagon sets asi...
Read more

Why China sees Myanmar's Rohingya crisis as an opportunity

Image
Thomson Reuters Myanmar's government has been embroiled in battle of rhetoric over its alleged ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims, but unlike the west, China sees an opportunity amid the affair. For China, Myanmar's crisis is a gateway for it to pursue similar economic and infrastructure strategies it has undertaken in Africa in order to extend its geopolitical reach. Myanmar is part of a complex geopolitical maze in which China is but one player. As the Myanmar government's violent policy towards its Rohingya Muslims drew increasing international condemnation in 2016, the country's sometime icon of democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi,   declined to speak out   for the persecuted minority. And in her attempts to protect Myanmar from renewed isolation, she has continued to deepen its relationship with her most powerful authoritarian neighbour: China. It seems the common notion that newly democratic states have little time for autocratic partners is false. Before the W...
Read more

Losing my faith in philanthropy led me to rediscover its power to change the world for good

Image
On Christmas Eve 2012, I was seriously considering quitting my job at the Gates Foundation. As I confessed to my wife, Emily, while wrapping presents, “I no longer believe in philanthropy.” I’d been at the foundation since the early days, rising from an entry-level analyst to R&D Lead for Maternal and Child Health, where I led the launch of the Grand Challenges Explorations program and published a number of articles in top journals like Science and The Lancet. By all professional measures I was “outperforming,” as we would describe successful grants. After one annual review, Bill Gates remarked at the high-degree of “actionable information” in my portfolio. Yet, despite the praise, there I was disillusioned and disconsolate. My doubts went beyond the usual critiques of rich-country philanthropists imposing foreign values or scientists pursuing unrealistic pipe dreams. My questions were more fundamental and vexing. Am I changing the world for the better? Or am I deceiving myself...
Read more