Putin’s Birthday Present Is...

 ... a Hercules-Themed Art Show About How Manly and Amazing He Is

By Katie Zavadski

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oto: Vasily Maximov/AFP/Getty Images

For his birthday, President Obama only got a photo essay of the past year's events posted to the White House website. Russian president Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, got a whole exhibition comparing him to the Greek mythical hero Heracles (known further west as Hercules). No joke — it's called "The 12 Labors of Putin."

The exhibit was held on Monday by members of a pro-Putin Facebook group in Moscow's "Red October" showspace, formerly the site of a chocolate factory by the same name. Putin turns 62 on Tuesday.

"Interestingly, the events of the ancient legends about the mythological hero Hercules can be relayed onto our days, when the three-headed dog Cerberus reminds us of the USA, annihilation of the Stymphalian Birds — of stopping the air raids in Syria and the cleaning of the Augean stables is fighting corruption," the organizers wrote on Facebook, apparently in earnest.

The organizer at the event itself appeared to be a young, bearded man named Mikhail Antonov, whose T-shirt was almost obscured by his blazer. Almost, but not quite — it appeared to read "Vladimir Putin" and have a thumbs-up sign underneath.

He said that members of the Facebook group often sent in artworkdepicting the president, and they decided to do a thematic show for the leader's birthday. So what were the 12 feats?

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South Stream gas pipeline (Belt of Hippolyta)

Putin's plan for a pipeline that would transport gas to Europe through the Black Sea, avoiding the traditional route through Ukraine.

Read more: nymag.com