Macho Medvedev rivals putin for strongman title

"Come on, let me do a few chin-ups here," said Medvedev yesterday to a small crowd of cheering students as he pulled off his jacket to reveal a tight-fitting v-neck sweater.

NTV television then showed the students counting in unison as Medvedev completed his fifth pull-up.

He began to do a sixth before stopping and jumping back down.

The Krasnodar school visit in southern Russia came two days after Medvedev spent much of a closely-watched state-of-nation address outlining a future children's policy.

His performance in that speech was interpreted by much of the Russian and Western media as a further sign of weakness at a particularly difficult point in Medvedev's career.

Recently revealed US cables identified Putin, the former president who is now prime minister, as the real leader of Russia, describing Medvedev as "Robin" to the "Batman" premier.

Of the two leaders, Putin is usually the one to show off his physique whether by taking a swim in a river or riding bare-chested on a horse.

Police close in

Sweden said yesterday it would issue a fresh arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as new revelations from his website's expose of US diplomatic cables saw Russia branded a "mafia state".

While the elusive whistle-blower laid low, his British lawyer insisted police knew his whereabouts and it emerged that an initial warrant was defective.

The US meanwhile named an anti-terrorism expert to lead a review of security in the wake of the leaks which have angered its friends and foes.

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