Video footage has emerged of an awkward-looking Putin dressed in a shell suit and blue Adidas sweatpants on a visit to Finland in the early 1990s.

In a far cry from his topless macho look on horseback, the Russian despot can be seen sporting long unkempt hair and wearing a casual purple and green tracksuit.

The video, obtained by Finnish broadcaster YLE, was filmed at a time when Putin was aged around 40 and his political figure was becoming rapidly more popular. 

In 1991, Leningrad’s name was changed to St Petersburg. Putin became the right hand man of the mayor Anatoly Sobchak who appointed him the head of the Committee for External Relations.

Nowadays Putin remains fiercely private, with only select images and videos available to the public, in which he looks rigid and incredibly serious.

Video footage has emerged of an awkward-looking Putin dressed in a shell suit with unkempt long hair in the early 1990s

In the footage, a subdued Putin eats at the dinner table dressed in a shell suit 

Putin pictured riding a horse in southern Siberia’s Tuva region, Russia August 3, 2009

Instead, the rare footage shows him even cracking a smile as he plays a ping pong match with Sobchak and the mayor’s bodyguards dressed in a snug white vest and sweatpants.

The group were staying on the island of Torsö in Raseborg, about 60 miles from Helsinki, at a villa owned by Finnish trade company Thomesto, which at the time imported timber from Russia, according to the broadcaster.

Another clip shows Putin sat at a table with some ten people eating a meal. He appears to be subdued as he munches away while the host Sobchak cuts some meat at the head of the table.

Putin then cracks a joke about the market economy, which was introduced to Russia following the collapse of communism.

In further clips the group can be seen on a fishing trip. with Putin quietly sitting in a small motor boat dressed in an orange raincoat.

According to the broadcaster, Putin – now a powerful dictator who has launched a barbaric invasion on Ukraine – was very quiet during the trip, and a source emphasised how little power he had at the time of filming, stating that he was a far cry from the macho image he has now created for himself.

The footage shows a Putin who is a far cry from the rigid and serious-looking one the public see today

Putin carries a hunting rifle during his trip in Ubsunur Hollow in the Siberian Tyva region, October 30, 2010

The Russian despot has dominated Russia for nearly 23 years since being handpicked by President Boris Yeltsin as his preferred successor in a surprise announcement on New Year’s Eve 1999.

Since then, Putin has been either President or Prime Minister of Russia. He has met with all manner of world leaders, and has carefully curated his image as a strongman.

To play to his base at home, he has often posed while performing adventurous stunts – including riding bare-chested on a horse, firing guns at shooting ranges, playing ice hockey or even exploring the ocean depths.

But despite trying to show off his fun side, he has also dragged Russia back into isolation with his aggression. He been involved in several conflicts – from Georgia, to Syria, to Ukraine – and is thought to have ordered many criminal acts on foreign soil – such as political assassinations – while cracking down on domestic dissent.