Vladimir Putin’s portraits are everywhere, including on T-shirts, mugs and fridge magnets

Flattering images of the Russian president on souvenirs reinforce a portrait offered by the Kremlin of Putin as a father figure or saviour of the nation

While vendors may be happy to cash in on Putin’s brand, the Kremlin has hinted there should be limits

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A mask of President Vladimir Putin on sale among other items at a souvenir stall in St Petersburg. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:04pm, 20 Feb 2020Updated: 7:10pm, 20 Feb 2020

Under the onion domes of its Orthodox churches or in front of its imperial facades, one face peers out at tourists strolling past the rows of Saint Petersburg’s souvenir stalls.

Twenty years after he came to power, President Vladimir Putin is omnipresent, not only across the airwaves of Russia’s media but also on the magnets, mugs and matryoshka dolls throughout his hometown.

Whether it is commander-in-chief Putin looking through binoculars or mocked-up shirtless Putin riding a bear, the Russian president is on sale everywhere.

A T-shirt with an image of President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AFP

Painter and businessman Alexei Sergiyenko has been cashing in on Putin for years. In 2012, he opened an exhibition of work devoted exclusively to Putin titled: “President. A man with a good soul.”

The walls of his studio were lined with pop art pictures of Putin carrying a child on his shoulders or dressed as a Hollywood superhero stopping a meteorite from crashing into the Earth.