Now, 'macho-man' Putin depicted as Hercules in Moscow art exhibition!

An art exhibition held at a small Moscow gallery reportedly showcased paintings depicting Russian leader Vladimir Putin as Hercules-the mythical Greek hero.

According to the Guardian, opened for just a night in honour of Putin's 62nd birthday on Tuesday, the exhibit reimagined his achievements as the 12 Labours of Hercules, beginning with the slaying of the Nemean lion - in this case, Putin strangling a bearded suicide bomber representing terrorism - and ending with the capture of the three-headed dog Cerberus, which symbolised the struggle with the United States and its "unipolar world".

The exhibition was organized by Mikhail Antonov, the founder of Putin fan group on Facebook, on eve of Russian president's birth anniversary.

Antonov, a political science graduate student at a Moscow University, said that through the paintings the fans wanted to form a different image of Putin because he was constantly being criticized by the western media and by the Russian media occasionally.

The majority of the attendees at the exhibit were journalists, but a group of students said they had come at Antonov's invitation, the report added.