Vladimir Putin 'arm-wrestled US congressman to decide who won the Cold War'

Dana Rohrbacher, a former Ronald Reagan speech writer, recalled meeting "a group of young political leaders", that included Mr Putin, in Washington in the early 1990s.

The group of American politicians, including Lewis "Scooter" Libby, later chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, taught their Russian counterparts how to play touch American football and later ended up drinking in an Irish pub, Mr Rohrbacher told the KPCC-FM radio station.

^{Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (R) participates in an arm-wrestling contest in 2011. (AFP/GETTY IMAGES)}

"Come to find out later it was Putin. I didn't know who he was then. He was deputy mayor of St Petersburg. That's all we knew. But he did have a huge bodyguard, so that did sort of give us a little hint that he's more important than just St Petersburg. So we went out and played touch football.

"And Scooter Libby was one of the players, and a bunch of my Right-wing friends were there. And so we all went over to this pub afterwards, the Irish Times pub," Mr Rohrbacher recalled.

"We were having a little bit too much to drink, I guess. But anyways, we started arguing about who won the Cold War, etc. And so we decided to settle it like men do when they've had too much to drink in the pub. And so we got down to these arm wrestling matches. And I ended up being paired up with Putin. And he's a little guy, but boy I tell you, he put me down in a millisecond. He is tough. … His muscles are just unbelievable."

^{Vladimir Putin during a judo training session in 2010 (EPA)}

Mr Putin is unwavering in his support of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, blocking any UN resolution against the regime, despite its use of chemical weapons that left over 1,400 people dead last month.

Last week, he wrote an editorial in the New York Times, warning the US to obey international law over Syria. "The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not," the Russian president wrote in a 1,000-word article.

However, Mr Rohrbacher said the West should still strive to work with Mr Putin over Syria, despite the hard man image that he experienced first hand.

"He's a tough guy, and he's supposed to be a tough guy. That's what the Russian people want. But that's not a reason we shouldn't work with him," he said.

Since coming to power in 2000, Mr Putin has often burnished his image with "macho" exploits such as riding a horse shirtless and shooting a tiger with a tranquilliser.

In July he was filmed diving to the bottom of the Baltic Sea aboard a submersible to explore a ship wreck.

State television pictures showed Mr Putin climbing aboard an underwater research vessel for the half-hour dive to the wreck of a frigate that sank in the Gulf of Finland in 1869.

In other stunts, he has been filmed flying with cranes, to lead a flock of the endangered Siberian birds on their winter migratory path, and fixing an electronic tracker to a polar bear. In 2008, he apparently "saved" a television crew from a tiger attack.

^{Vladimir Putin swims in the mountains of the Siberian Tyva region in 2009 (AP)}

In a widely ridiculed stunt in 2011, he "discovered" ancient Grecian urns while diving in the Black Sea. The Kremlin later admitted the treasure had been placed in shallow waters for him to find.

Last year he reportedly admitted that a lot of his photo opportunities were staged, but defended himself, saying although he was often ridiculed, the pictures at least raised awareness of the issues he was trying to promote.