Putin Mocked in Russian Media Over Length of His Pants

Clothes may make the man, but during a meeting with his closest ally, it seems that Vladimir Putin's trousers did not even make his feet.

Social media users noticed that in talks with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, the Russian president's slacks had very little slack in them.

Putin was hosting Lukashenko in a two-day visit in which they addressed the media at the Constantine (Konstantinovsky) Palace in Strelna, outside Saint Petersburg on Sunday.

As he listened to Lukashenko, a tie-less Putin appeared relaxed, rolling his feet as his legs were kept widely enough apart for him to be accused of man-spreading, had he been in a more contained space.

But instead of sitting nicely on the top of his shoes, the hems of Putin's pants didn't advance past his shins and, in fact, looked to be in full retreat—a point not lost on his detractors online.

Ivan Zhdanov, director of Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), the group founded by jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny, tweeted a composite image of Putin during the meeting with a screen grab of what was broadcast on state television, in which the bottom of his legs wasn't visible.

"They decided to cut the rather stupid shot of Putin in short pants on federal channels and show it only from the waist," he wrote in Russian.

Whether the sartorial shortcoming was intentional, a wardrobe malfunction or due to an overly zealous setting on the Kremlin laundry's dry-cleaning machine, the comment sparked a thread that concluded: If the suit does not fit, do not wear it.

"Damn, who's his tailor?" wrote one. "They sewed it under a fake state contract, everything is as usual," said another.

"To sew properly, you must not lie about the size, and he doesn't know how to lie," wrote a user. Another comment about the five-foot seven Russian president was that "the boy just suddenly grew."

"The tailor was a GUR agent," wrote one user, referring to Russia's foreign military intelligence agency. Another joked about the military blogger and Putin critic who has just been arrested. "It seems the tailor was (Igor) Girkin." Another user shared an image of Adolf Hitler in shorts.

Putin's pants have been under scrutiny before. In February, images of the Russian president wearing what look to be an overly long pair were shared on social media.

Lukashenko and Putin were meeting for the first time since the rebellion by the Wagner Group of mercenaries last month. The leaders visited a monastery, where they took part in a prayer. During the visit, Putin also claimed that Ukraine's counteroffensive aimed at retaking territory occupied by Russia "has failed."