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Putin picks mushrooms in Siberian taiga and admires the Yenisei River

The Russian president turns 67 on October 7

Photo {{sliderIndex+1}} from 12

© Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

© Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

© Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

© Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

© Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

© Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

© Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

© Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

© Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

© Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

© Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

© Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin went for a walk in the Siberian taiga and climbed a mountain ahead of his birthday on Monday.

As it was promised earlier by Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the video footage of Putin’s trip to taiga was published after midnight on October 7, when the president is celebrating his birthday. The footage was published by Life web portal.

The Siberian taiga

The footage shows how the president in the company of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is taking a walk in the Siberian forest and picking mushrooms. One of the mushrooms (apparently a milk-cap mushroom) drew a particular attention of the president. "A pinecone is on the top of it," he said examining a cap of the mushroom with a pinecone on it.

The footage further shows Putin behind a wheel of an off-roader driving it in taiga with Defense Minister Shoigu in the passenger seat of the vehicle. They also walked a part of the distance.

During one of their rest stops, the video shows Shoigu digging out a small bush with wild berries. "Plant it in the Moscow Region. You can plant it at your dacha in the Moscow Region," the president said smiling to the minister. Shoigu doubted whether the bush would get acclimatized in the Moscow Region. "We need to make the same air and water in Moscow," Putin said.

"In any way, this is what we must be committed to," the Russian president said more seriously.

During another rest stop, Putin and Shoigu had a picnic beside a bonfire.

Above the clouds

The president also climbed a mountain and enjoyed the sights from the top. "The Yenisei [River] looks beautiful from here," he said.

The video footage shows how Putin is ascending the mountain, which according to him, is about 2,000 meters high.

"High above the clouds. Much higher than the clouds. We have climbed higher than the clouds," Putin said.

The Russian president turns 67 on Monday. His Spokesman Peskov stated earlier that Putin "plans to spend his birthday in the great outdoors with his family and close friends."

In the previous years, Putin went on several occasions for a one-or two-day trips to taiga and also in the company of Defense Minister Shoigu.

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