From macho man to animal lover: Many shades of Vladimir Putin's life

Russian President Vladimir Putin turned 70 on Friday (October 7). Russian officials hailed Putin and praised him for his role in modern Russian history. 

In Russia, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill said that Putin's rule over Russia was preordained by God. "God put you in power so that you could perform a service of special importance and of great responsibility for the fate of the country and the people entrusted to your care," the patriarch said. 

Apart from wishing the Russian president, Kirill praised Putin for "transforming the image of Russia, strengthening its sovereignty and its defence capability, protecting its national interests." Kirill wished "health and a long life" to the Russian leader who has been in power for more than 20 years. 

Putin's birthday is celebrated days after Moscow's military mobilisation, nuclear threats and move to annex a swathe of Ukraine. It is more than 200 days after invading the former Soviet republic. 

Seven months into the Ukraine offensive, Putin is isolated from Western countries and has been looking east in the face of unprecedented sanctions. 

From a macho man to a sensitive animal lover, Putin has managed to cultivate his image for years with a series of photo ops. His famous photos include taking a dip in icy waters, riding shirtless on horseback, freeing tigers into the wild, etc. He was also seen throwing opponents on the judo mat and swimming butterfly strokes in a river. 

Here's a look at some of the most popular images: 

On many occasions, Putin was seen sitting proud, bare-chested on a horse. He once revealed an incident when he was limed falling from a horse. 

As quoted by the TASS news agency, Putin once said: "They were once filming me, I was training, and it happened that the horse stopped in front of a barrier and I did a somersault, literally a somersault." 

The 68-year-old who has been in power in Russia for more than two decades as president or prime minister took a dip in icy waters in the water during Orthodox Epiphany celebrations at lake Seliger, Tver region.

Putin, who is a black belt in judo, is a one-time judo champion in his native city of St Petersburg. 

In this image, Putin is holding a five-year-old tiger's head as scientists put on a collar with a satellite tracker on the animal in the academy of sciences Ussuri reserve in Russia's Far East on August 31, 2008.

In this image, Putin is seen through the glass of C-Explorer 5 submersible after a dive to see the remains of the naval frigate "Oleg", which sank in the 19th century, in the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea.

In this image, Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (R) are seen playing an ice hockey game at Shayba Arena in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia.