Russian President Vladimir Putin descended to the bottom of the sea on Monday, taking a half-hour journey into the depths of the Gulf of Finland to view the wreck of a Russian battleship. Putin rode a small submersible 60 metres down to see the remains of the naval frigate Oleg, which sank in 1869.
The Oleg's remains, currently being examined by marine archaeologists, lie off the island of Gogland 180 kilometres west of St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city.
President Putin has developed something of a hands-on reputation, having in the past flown a fighter jet, saved the lives of a film crew by shooting an oncoming Siberian tiger with a tranquilliser rifle, examined live polar bears and made a trip to the bottom of Lake Baikal, the world's deepest lake.
