Blogger-activist's trial dangerous Putin political stunt

In one of several outdoor adventure stunts, Vladimir Putin prepares to fly an ultra-light aircraft to lead the migration of a rare Siberian crane. /Image via telegraph.co.uk

Russian President Vladimir Putin has projected a strongman image for years: KGB colonel, Judo expert, hunter, swimmer, pilot, equestrian, fisherman and ruthless Kremlin leader worthy of a leading role in a James Bond movie. Although Putin's publicity stunt machine has misfired recently, the St. Petersburg native has thus far passed the greatest test in Russian politics: time. Putin has held sway in the Kremlin directly or indirectly for more than a dozen years.

One of Putin's most vocal critics, anti-corruption blogger Aleksei Navalny, faces upto 10 years in prison on embezzlement charges that are viewed as at least politically tainted, and at most politically directed. Local prosecutors dismissed the charges against Navalny, but federal prosecutors revived the case after the 36-year-old helped lead huge Moscow street protests against Putin's government in 2011.

The attempt to use the federal courts against a political opponent is ominous even by Putin's Bond villain standards. The strongman is playing with fire. Domestically, Putin runs the risk of cementing Navalny's status as the top opposition leader in the country. Internationally, the trial is publicizing a top concern about Russia's new market economy: corruption.

For the past five years, Navalny has exposed graft at major Russian companies and natural resources monopolies, including:

• VTB Bank's oil drill purchase scam estimated at $156 million
• Transneft's Chinese oil pipeline embezzlement estimated at $4 billion
• Federal government fraud such as rigged contracts documented at $56 million

It's not the kind of image Putin is looking to project.

Since 2000, Vladimir Putin has led Russia out front as president and from behind the scenes as prime minister. Fit and crafty at age 60, he could easily surpass Leonid Brezhnev as the longest serving leader of post-Stalinist Russia. /Image via AP

Putin has fostered a virile outsdoorsman persona, including equestrian excursions, hunting and fishing. /Image via telegraph.co.uk

Putin's "release" of a snow leopard led to an admission that his animal publicity stunts are shameless publicity stunts. The animal, one of the most isolative known in nature, was kept in a cage for a week for Putin's photo op. /Image via telegraph.co.uk

Movie-goers would love seeing Putin playing himself opposite Roger Craig in the next Bond film. /Image via itv.com