(Image Source: The Moscow Times)

BY EMOKE BEBIAK

ANCHOR LAUREN GORES

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is the man.

So much so that he can just go for a casual diving expedition and emerge with 6th century B.C. Grecian urns back in August. But it turns out Putin is no Indiana Jones after all-- even HE needed some help to pull off the archaeological discovery. (Video: Russia Today)

The Guardian reports the diving expedition turns out to be latest of Putin’s PR stunts saying...

“In an unusually candid glimpse into the cultivation of Putin's macho image, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said archaeologists had planted the amphorae in shallow water for the politician to find.”

Peskov admitted as much in an interview with a TV station critical of Putin. (Video: Dozhd TV)

The Huffington Post has a translation.

"Look – Putin didn't find down there jugs that had lain there for many thousands of years. It's obvious... Of course they were found in the course of an expedition several weeks or days earlier. Of course they were left there or placed there. It's completely normal. There's no reason to gloat about this and everything else."

But CBS News points out every politician likes good photo ops--it’s because of the Russian media Putin can pull off unconventional PR stunts.

“U.S. presidents offer a daily album of photos, proving that the commander-in-chief is hard at work, and occasionally at play. Of course, U.S. politicians are eager for flattering and photo ops providing positive spin, but staging an antiquities find would end a campaign faster than insinuations of infidelity.”

The news about the PR stunt comes a week after Putin announced he was running for president--again. The Daily Mail calls the admission “unusually candid” -- and suggests the set-up might in fact be a stunt itself.

“Previous appearances, which have shown Mr Putin hunting, riding horseback ... have also prompted bitter comments on blogs and social media. Mr Peskov's rare interview with a television station that has been critical of the government could reflect authorities' concerns about a negative attitude to Mr Putin's re-election bid among the nation's intellectuals and middle class.”

Putin is famous for his rather unconventional photo-ops: he has been caught on camera fishing, hunting for polar bears and tigers, driving a race car and riding a motorbike.