Stunt-loving Putin rides to bottom of Black Sea

18 August 2015, 6:41 pm

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MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin takes a small submersible craft down to the bottom of the Black Sea to see an ancient ship recently discovered off the coast of Crimea.

Putin, who has a penchant for adventurous stunts, previously explored the Gulf of Finland and Lake Baikal in submersibles. In another of his well-publicized exploits, he went scuba diving and brought up ancient Greek pottery shards that his spokesman later admitted had been planted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, sits on board a bathyscaphe as it plunges into the Black sea along the coast of Sevastopol, Crimea, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015. (Alexei Nikolsky/RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

He dove 83 meters (272 feet) underwater in a three-seat submersible to see the remains of a Byzantine trading ship said to date back to the 9th or 10th century.

Speaking by radio while still under water, Putin says he hopes the find would shed light on Russia’s historical development.

— AP