Vladimir Putin: Interesting Facts and Questionable Stunts

Putin The Firefighter

Photo Credits: The Guardian

In 2010, there was a massive wildfire in the Ryazan region of Moscow. In order to fight the fire, they were utilizing fire-fighting planes to fly overhead and drop water onto the fire below. Putin insisted that he was involved in the action and copiloted one of the helicopters himself. Essentially, all he did was press the release button to drop the water, but it was good for morale and definitely fit his images of a “man’s man”. It is noted that he originally piloted the plane, yet as soon as the plane was off the ground he switched to the co-pilot seat as part of publicity stunt.