Although criticised by some Russians for placing restrictions on the media, and for getting too close to the United States too fast, he has sky-high popularity ratings and is widely admired for restoring national pride in the nearly two years since he took over from Boris Yeltsin. Unlike Mr Yeltsin, who, despite his defence of democracy, eventually became a figure of fun for his chaotic and sometimes drunken management of post-Communist Russia, Mr Putin is seen as upright, with a skilful and assured touch on foreign affairs and the economy.

Mr Vrubel said that this was deliberate because they wanted to pin down certain expressions and match them to months, whereas when a subject sat for a portrait their expression kept changing. Mrs Timofeeyeva said: "In the end I felt we were painting a friend or a neighbour, not a leader who inspires fear."

The paintings had unofficial approval and were being bought by Kremlin officials for their offices and to give as gifts, Mr Vrubel said. A senior official has given the calendar to Mr Putin, together with the original oil painting of the December portrait. which shows the Russian leader in a thoughtful pose. "He apparently liked it very much" Mr Vrubel said. The President’s office has also bought the original of the calendar’s cover portrait— in effect, a thirteenth pose — which shows Mr Putin, a former judo champion, sitting cross-legged in his judo clothing.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta noted that the calendar was in contrast to the idealised pictures of Mr Putin available in Moscow bookshops, which were a throwback to the airbrushed portraits of Soviet times.