Vladimir Putin has been mocked over images of him shaking hands with Mozambique’s president – who is nearly a foot taller than him.
The Russian leader, who is 5ft 7in, met 6ft 5in Daniel Chapo at a Kremlin summit on Tuesday, with social media users making fun of the height disparity between the two.
Moscow initially did not publish images of the meeting despite Mr Chapo sharing a picture of himself towering over Putin.
The Russian president’s official photographers shared a photograph from a lower angle that made the Russian president appear taller.
Putin is known to be sensitive about his stature and is said to wear high platform shoes to boost his height.
After Mr Chapo shared images from the meeting, social media users poked fun at Putin's attempts to conceal his height with memes.
One edited photograph depicted Mr Chapo as the Lord of the Rings wizard Gandalf and Putin as a barefoot hobbit.
Another picture showed an even smaller Putin, with the caption reading: 'Why did you enlarge Putin on your photo? Here's the original.'
Russian president Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Mozambique's president Daniel Chapo at a Kremlin summit on Tuesday
Putin is being ruthlessly mocked online over their height difference
This meme depicts Mr Chapo as Gandalf from Lord of the Rings, while Putin is presented as a hobbit. Putin is known to be self conscious about his height
One meme showed Putin with a set of steps and binoculars
One social media user commented: 'Putin must feel very insecure, looking up,' while another said: 'How dare you make Putin appear as the little man.'
A third commented: 'Why he so tiny?'
The Russian leader has long been self-conscious about his height and has gone to great lengths to try and obscure it.
In 2023, he was pictured in high-heeled shoes among students in Moscow in an attempt to curate his macho image.
In 2015, the Express reported that a Kremlin insider said nobody could be taller than the president in official photos.
The source told the newspaper: 'That's why his bodyguards are always shorter than he is, to give the impression Putin is a tall person.'
The Economist explained in 2020: 'In politics, height matters.'
The magazine reported research that taller politicians outperformed their rivals in the polls, on average.
This was attributed to taller people enjoying higher self-esteem, on average, and being perceived as healthier, more intelligent, and authoritative.