After making headlines with a photo session with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin is once again stealing the limelight — this time with a cat.
The photo of the president holding a tabby cat — which looks like it wants to get away — was published Friday on the Kremlin's website.
The photo was taken during a working visit to the Russian republic of Khakasia in southern Siberia, where Putin visited homes built for the victims of the forest fires that raged through the region this spring, the Kremlin said.
Putin is often portrayed as an animal lover, allowing himself to be photographed with Amur tigers, dogs, and, at the G20 summit in Brisbane, a koala, among other publicity stunts. According to news website Gazeta.ru, this is the first time the president has been photographed holding a cat.
The last picture of Putin with a cat was in September 2013, when the president taught Russian schoolchildren how to draw the furry animal — from behind.
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