In Russia, as elsewhere, the personal is political, and the body is an instrument of power. It is through this specific prism that Luca Auben - director of research at the Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS) and a doctor of Slavic studies - examines contemporary Russia. In his book "Putin's Sex. Gender, Power and Counterculture in Russia" he analyzes how the dominance of bodies has been used in the service of his political project - a kind of "cultural war" against Western democracies.
At the heart of this system is the body of the head of state himself. Hyperbolized, glorified, adored. But how did Vladimir Putin make his body an instrument of his power both in Russia and abroad? How did he manage to foresee and even "ride" the conservative wave that swept through Europe, the United States and other South American countries? How did the Kremlin leader's macho performances contribute to the rise of masculinity in the West? Here are some of the answers that Luca Aubin gives in an interview with the French magazine Madame Figaro:
Madame Figaro: In your book, you explain that it was through his sports performances that Vladimir Putin initially instilled the idea of the strong body...
Luca Aubin: When Putin came to power on December 31, 1999 (after the resignation of Boris Yeltsin, ed.), early elections were nevertheless organized. During his campaign, he began to present himself in a certain way, claiming that it was judo and sport in a broader sense that had pulled him out of the bottom of society and had built his personal ethics, allowing him to become a strong and masculine man. It is significant that after his election he brought to the Kremlin... his long-time judo coach!
Madame Figaro: Why does Putin turn his own body into a message of his strength?
Luca Aubin: The idea is, above all, to show that Russia is returning to the world stage, and that it is a power that, like a phoenix, is resurrected.
Putin is establishing himself as the embodiment of this Russia that is rising - physically, but of course, also metaphorically. To show Putin as strong means to show a strong Russia.
A whole political narrative unfolds through his body. Power must be seen, recognized and felt in a single body. It must take the form of a figure capable of bringing together the state, the nation and history in a single image.
Because to govern in Putin's Russia means, above all, to show off.
Madame Figaro: How does he achieve it?
Luca Aubin: In the early 2000s, his communications team decided to draw inspiration from Hollywood to turn him into the new "hero" of the Russian Federation.
This led to the creation of a real "Putin branding". In the media, he was presented as an experienced athlete who engaged in hang gliding, played hockey, practiced judo, skied, rode a horse naked to the waist in the mountains or hunted a giant pike... And this narrative resonated very well with the Russian people. His popularity peaked in 2014 during the Winter Olympics in Sochi. The message also finds echoes in the foreign press.
Madame Figaro: What cultural and historical factors does Putin rely on to build the authoritarian and masculine image of his power?
Luca Aubin: For Putin, Russia has a thousand-year civilizational history. The regime promotes the traditional Russian family, praising women capable of giving birth to many children - as in the time of Tsarist Russia. Interestingly, Putin also makes a kind of synthesis with the Stalinist Soviet period; I am referring in particular to the brute physical strength that was visible in Joseph Stalin.
Putin truly possesses the dynamics of the "father of nations". In short, he fits into the Russian tradition of exemplary figures: sports masters, Soviet heroes, Stakhanovites... The aim is to create a symbolic boundary between a "us" - Russian, sovereign, masculine, strong and deeply rooted - and a "them", directed at Western democracies, presented as weakened and morally disoriented.
Madame Figaro: According to you, Putin even foresaw the conservative turn in Europe and the emergence of "masculinism"...
Luca Aubin: By projecting a leader with a strong and trained body, the Russian government promotes a hegemonic standard of masculinity: that of the defender, the hardy man, imbued with traditional values. Putin began to use this narrative very early and in this respect he is a pioneer. He will contribute to the creation of this global current of masculinity, which is actually a "backlash" - a backlash to the MeToo movement.
Starting in 2016 with the election of Donald Trump, this reactionary movement will gain momentum (in June, a report by the French Senate delegation on women's rights even defined masculinity as a serious terrorist threat, ed. note). For Putin, the threat comes from the West, the European Union and NATO. It is at this point that this very specific use of the body truly transforms into an ideology. He turns it into a political strategy, uniting conservatives and sovereignists at the international level. His goal is to divide the West in order to weaken it and be able to maintain his power.
Madame Figaro: What do Trump and Putin have in common in the way they demonstrate their masculinity?
Luca Aubin: A certain idea of masculinity, the cult of the strong man. Both have a clear gender distinction and a strong heteronormative understanding of roles in life.
Trump is heavily inspired by Putin and is progressing much faster than him! Putin was initially inspired by Hollywood... But Trump, in a sense, is Hollywood itself! These are reality TV, wrestling, the constant spectacle.
With both Putin and Trump, this staging serves to point to an enemy: intellectual elites, feminists, LGBT+ people, "decadence".
The message is simple: the world is in trouble because it has lost its alpha males.
If Putin uses his body as a metaphor for a resurgent Russia, Trump turns his into a stage for a rematch.
But both tell the same story: the return of the strong man as a political solution.
This staging of the body extends beyond these two figures and applies to other authoritarian regimes: Xi Jinping displays an opaque, almost imperial body; Turkish President Erdogan plays the role of father of the nation.
Indian leader Modi, for his part, mobilizes an ascetic and spiritual body, while Brazilian President Bolsonaro projects a brutal, military masculinity...
Ultimately, the styles are different, but the logic always remains the same: the leader's body becomes a populist and patriarchal political language.
Madame Figaro: Putin's body looks strong, but also somewhat "stiff".
Luca Auben: During his years in the KGB, Putin has learned not only how to move, but also to always be ready for battle. Some experts will tell you that the specific position of his hands is characteristic of a man ready to draw his weapon...
His face is also interesting. He rarely smiles, almost never, which is deeply rooted in Russian culture. Smiling at someone you don't know or barely know can be misinterpreted - it can suggest bad intentions. A Russian man must control himself, both physically and emotionally. And to embody the Russian nation, Putin must maintain his youth and not age - because that would be a sign of weakness.
In recent years, he has repeatedly appeared with a puffy look, visibly "Botoxed". He is truly obsessed with control and strives for some form of timelessness. An indicator in this regard is a recent conversation (in September 2025, editor's note) between him and Xi Jinping: the two discussed the development of biotechnology. Xi Jinping spoke of "living up to 150 years", while Putin claimed that "since human organs can be continuously transplanted, people can rejuvenate as they age and could even become immortal".
The main problem with authoritarian regimes that are personified by a single personality is that they, like all of us, are doomed to disappear one day.