As Putin Announces 2018 Presidential Bid, SUPERPUTIN Exhibition Opens In Moscow

Vladimir Putin cuddles puppies, jaguars and babushkas, rides bears while dressed in armor and vanquishes evil as a beefy superhero, among other exemplary talents. That’s, at least, how the artists and organizers behind a new art exhibition in Moscow have depicted the Russian president.

Dubbed “SUPERPUTIN,” the installation opened on Wednesday, the same day the 65-year-old Putin announced his bid for a fourth presidential term. Organizers said in a statement that the exhibition seeks to depict Putin as a “modern superhero ... whose many talents and skills can fittingly be characterized as ‘supertalents’ and ‘superpowers.’ ”

Thirty paintings and sculptures of Putin will be on display at the UMAM museum until Jan. 15. They include artworks depicting him as Santa Claus, a Roman emperor and a Judoka slamming an opponent onto the ground.

“Each painting depicts a quality or a value of the president ,” pro-Putin activist Yulia Dyuzheva, one of the exhibition’s organizers, told the AFP, as she rattled off what she said were his many positive attributes.

“He is first and foremost a super president and a super leader,” the 22-year-old said. “[He is] loyal and respectful towards everyone … [and] has only allies and friends.” 

Putin announced his re-election bid while speaking to a crowd of automobile workers in the city of Nizhny Novgorod.

The timing of the two events appeared to be a coincidence, with Reuters calling the synchrony “a happy accident of political theater .”

Scroll down to see photos captured at the “SUPERPUTIN” exhibition: