In pictures: The 12 Labours of... Putin

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Russian President Vladimir Putin as Hercules in a new art exhibition

In Greek mythology, Heracles, or Hercules, the son of Zeus, performed 12 labours: a dozen incredibly difficult and highly dangerous tasks.

But slaying the Neamean lion or battling the Lernaean hydra must have been a walk in the park, compared to what Vladimir Putin has had to deal with. At least, that's the impression you get from this bizarre exhibition.

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The original 12 Labours of Hercules were acts of penance and toil performed by the Greek hero. To mark Vladimir Putin's 62nd birthday, Hercules' tasks have been given a Russian makeover. Mythical monsters have been replaced by modern monstrosities such as terrorism.
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Mr Putin grapples with the multi-headed hydra... of Western sanctions. The EU, US, Canada and Japan imposed sanctions after accusing Russia of supplying separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine with heavy weapons and soldiers - an accusation Russia denies.
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Mr Putin is depicted stopping Western intervention in Syria - a reference to Russia's veto at a UN Security Council vote in 2012. The exhibition has been organised by the Vladimir Putin Supporters Group on Facebook. The artists however, are a mystery.
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"They want to remain anonymous," explained one of the group's members, Mikhail Antonov, to the BBC. The images were a special birthday present for the president, he added. In this painting, Mr Putin fights off the horses of corruption.
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But Herculean leadership isn't all about military prowess - or so these paintings seem to try to indicate. Here Mr Putin is celebrated as the hero of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
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Destroying the not-so-mythical "oligarch beasts". When Mr Putin came to power in 2000 he vowed to destroy Russia's oligarchs as a "class".
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This painting of Mr Putin riding a fearsome Crimean ox refers to the peninsula's breakaway from Ukraine and annexation by Russia in March 2014.
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The Mistral contract was a deal for delivery of warships from France to Russia worth 1.2bn euros. France suspended delivery of the first of the two ships because of Russia's actions in eastern Ukraine.
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The South Stream pipeline is one of Russia's most powerful diplomatic pressure tools. Running across most of Europe from Russia, it feeds the region with a supply of gas that many countries rely upon.
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In May 2014 Russia and China signed a landmark 30-year gas deal worth around $400bn. Here Mr Putin is credited with a trade victory.
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As seen here, backing peace in Ukraine, Mr Putin is painted as a strong leader by the group. "We the people have trusted the leaders of Russia: the tsars, the emperors, or general secretaries of the Communist party," Mr Antonov told the BBC. "Vladimir Putin continues that tradition. He is a hero of the people."
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In the final labour, Mr Putin is depicted as doing battle with his nemesis - the United States. With a domestic approval rating exceeding 80%, Vladimir Putin is currently enjoying the kind of popularity that Western politicians, maybe even Hercules himself, could only dream of.