Is Putin Gay?

I saw Vladimir Putin on the ITV news grappling with a fit young man supposedly practiscing Judo. This is the latest in a long line of publicity stunts by the Russian dictator that seek to make him appear more manly.

• Shooting a tiger, with a TV crew coincidentally on hand to capture the moment.
• Being photographed strolling around bare chested on holiday.
• Having rumours spread that he is going out with a much younger woman.

I can think of two possible reasons for this, as a short, slightly built, middle aged man who has only ever worked as a bureaucrat he is desperate to appear more like action man or secondly he is in the closet. When you combine the rather desperate attempts to be more masculine with other aspects of his life, such as:

• his membership of the KGB (MI-6 famously attracted a lot of homosexuals so I'd guess the same dynamic is true for the KGB).
• Surrounding himself with young male advisers, including the Ken doll lookalike who succeeded him as president.
• Holidaying with Prince Albert of Monaco, who is widely rumoured to be gay.

I'm not saying he definitely is gay and it doesn't bother me if he is, although being a mass murdering dictator does bother me, but it explains a lot. It might also be why he doesn't want a free press to operate in Russia.

Update : In the comments Alison points to Vladimir's rather flamboyant aesthetic tastes. It's very Elton John like.