It is that time of year in Russia again, when a special type of popular, celebrity pinup calendar for the coming year can be bought at newspaper kiosks, bookstores and the like.

在俄罗斯，又到了每年的这个时候，人们可以在报刊亭、书店等地方买到一种特别受欢迎的明星挂历，用于迎接新的一年。

The leading man? Why, it’s President Vladimir V. Putin, of course, starring in his multifaceted role as father of the nation — strong leader, religious believer, extreme sportsman, historian, dog lover and lifestyle coach.

挂历上的男主角？没错，当然是弗拉基米尔·普京总统——他以多重身份出演国家之父：强势领袖、虔诚的信徒、极限运动爱好者、历史学者、爱犬人士与生活方式的导师。

The calendars, of which there are a variety, follow the same basic format. Each month shows a different picture of Mr. Putin and includes a short quote from his speeches or other public remarks from the previous year.

这些挂历有不同版本，但遵循基本相同的格式：每个月都会配上一张普京的照片，并附上他在去年的公开讲话中精选出来的语录。

“It’s the idea of a man for every season,” said Fiona Hill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington who ran the Russia desk at the National Security Council during the first Trump administration. “They are positioning Putin as this iconic figure, reminding everybody how cool he is, how much in charge he is, how much he’s kind of the living symbol and embodiment of literally everybody’s days.”

“背后的理念是，这是一个‘四季皆宜的男人’，”美国布鲁金斯学会高级研究员、曾在特朗普第一任期担任白宫国家安全委员会俄罗斯事务主管的菲奥娜·希尔说。“他们把普京塑造成一个偶像式人物，不断提醒大家他有多酷、多么江山在握，仿佛他就是所有人每天生活的象征与化身。”

There are no pictures linking Mr. Putin to the war he started against Ukraine in February 2022, mirroring the official line that the conflict is a distant distraction. Lest anyone get the wrong impression, however, some quotes reflect Russia’s muscular perspective in trying to swallow its smaller neighbor.

挂历中没有任何将普京与他在2022年2月发动的乌克兰战争联系起来的照片，呼应了官方将冲突淡化为一个遥远的、与日常无关的分心之事。但为了避免任何误解，挂历中的一些引语仍然反映了俄罗斯对吞并其较小邻国的强硬视角。

January shows Mr. Putin in a parka astride a snowmobile. That month’s quote: “Russia’s border never ends.” February has him flipping a judo partner onto his back. “I am a dove, but I have very powerful iron wings,” is the chosen quote.

1月的画面中，普京身着派克大衣，跨坐在雪地摩托上，配文写道：“俄罗斯的边界永无止境。”2月的照片里，他施展柔道技艺，将对手掀翻在地，对应的引言是：“我本是和平鸽，但拥有坚不可摧的钢铁之翼。”

In some calendars, Mr. Putin appears to be trying to justify the war in Ukraine, with one quote reading, “I think Russia has become much stronger in the last two or three years because we are becoming a truly sovereign country.”

部分挂历中，普京的引言似在为俄乌战争辩解，其中一句写道：“我认为，过去两三年俄罗斯变得愈发强大，因为我们正成为一个真正拥有主权的国家。”

The calendars, commercial ventures from different publishing houses, retail for the equivalent of about $3.50 each. They end up hanging in schoolrooms, post offices and other government facilities, not to mention homes. No matter how many editions, the calendars deliver a certain bland sameness, said Maxim Trudolyubov, a former newspaper editor who left Russia amid the war and now edits The Russia File, a political analysis blog published by the Kennan Institute in Washington.

这些挂历由不同出版社推出，属于商业产品，每本售价约合3.5美元。最终会出现在学校教室、邮局等政府机构，更走进了千家万户。曾为俄罗斯报纸编辑、战争期间离开俄罗斯的华盛顿肯南研究所旗下政治分析博客《俄罗斯档案》编辑马克西姆·特鲁多柳博夫表示，无论推出多少版本，这类挂历都透着一种千篇一律的乏味感。

2024年莫斯科报摊上出售的去年的普京日历之一。

“This genre is its own kind of art,” he said, noting that Mr. Putin, 72, first became president of Russia almost 26 years ago. “It’s an empire with this ancient emperor who’s been around for decades, so it is supposed to be boring; it is supposed to signal stability, predictability, even if the reality is nothing of the kind.”

“这种题材本身就是一种独特的艺术，”他指出，72岁的普京近26年前首次出任俄罗斯总统。“这就像一个由在位数十年的古老君主统治的帝国，这类挂历理应如此乏味——它要传递的是稳定、可预测的信号，即便现实并非如此。”

The calendars exude a certain Ken-doll vibe, with Mr. Putin sporting different outfits for different roles. For July, he sits at a piano in a dark suit and tie with a dreamy look in his eye, quoting a Bolshevik song about doing things with your own hands. Come August, he is sporting a hunter’s uniform to offer lifestyle advice: “My recipe for energy: Sleep little, work a lot and don’t whine.”

挂历中的普京透着一股肯娃娃般的精致气质，为适配不同角色换上各式装扮。7月的照片里，他身着深色西装、系着领带坐在钢琴前，眼神悠远，配文引用了一首布尔什维克歌曲的歌词，歌颂亲力亲为的精神。8月的他换上猎装，分享起生活心得：“我的精力秘诀：少睡觉、多做事，别抱怨。”

Another piece of advice in the calender offers an example of Mr. Putin’s salty humor: “It’s counterproductive to bury your head in the sand because something else will still stick out.”

挂历中还有一句引言尽显普京粗俗的幽默：“把头埋进沙子里毫无用处，因为会有别的东西露在外面。”

Fortunately or unfortunately, Mr. Putin seems to have kept his shirt on in public over the past year, so as male pinup calendars go, this year’s versions have no shots of Mr. Putin shirtless on horseback or fishing.

无论幸或不幸，过去一年普京在公开场合始终衣着整齐。因此，今年的男性写真挂历中，没有出现他赤膊骑马或钓鱼的经典画面。

Nor were there any of the action-hero images of earlier years, with Mr. Putin piloting a motorized hang glider among migratory birds in Siberia or donning scuba gear to “discover” a Greek urn in the depths of the Black Sea — an infamously staged shot.

早年那些动作英雄式的形象也消失不见——比如在西伯利亚驾驶动力滑翔机与候鸟同行，或是身着潜水装备在黑海深处“发现”希腊古瓮（那是一张臭名昭著的摆拍）。

The calendars began to appear soon after he first assumed the presidency, in 2000, but they really seemed to have taken off around 2011. That year, 12 female journalism students from Moscow State University made one of their own, each posing in lingerie with a line about Mr. Putin.

这类挂历早在2000年普京首次出任总统后不久就已出现，但真正风靡似乎是在2011年左右。当年，莫斯科国立大学的12名女性新闻系学生自制了一本挂历，她们每人身着内衣出镜，旁边配上一句与普京相关的文字。

“All woman need a man like Putin,” read the quote for January. Young women critical of the Russian leader created a counter calendar online, posing in black with their mouths taped shut.

1月对应的配文写道：“每个女人都需要一个像普京这样的男人。”而批评这位俄罗斯领导人的年轻女性则在网上推出了一本反击挂历，她们身着黑衣出镜，嘴上贴着封口胶带。

Ms. Hill suggested this type of branding was part of the “populist, strong man” approach to everything. “Trump does exactly the same,” she said, while noting that it would be hard to imagine the leaders of Canada, Germany or Britain appearing on T-shirts or other such merchandise. “Those people are not so self-reverential and they are in a different political environment.”

希尔认为，这种个人形象塑造是“民粹主义强硬领袖”行事风格的体现。“特朗普也是这么做的，”她还说。同时她还强调，很难想象加拿大、德国或英国的领导人会出现在T恤等周边商品上。“这些国家的领导人没那么自我推崇，而且他们所处的政治环境也截然不同。”

Trying to get a jump on the competition, at least one Russian newspaper released a 2026 calendar of Mr. Putin in September.

为抢占先机，至少有一家俄罗斯报纸已于9月抢先推出了2026年的普京挂历。

For anyone who cannot decide if a Putin calendar is quite the right purchase this year, he has manipulated the Constitution in order to remain president at least until 2036, meaning there are more than 4,000 shopping days left to get one.

如果有人今年还在犹豫要不要买一本普京挂历，不妨想想，普京早已通过修改宪法，确保自己至少能执政到2036年。也就是说，未来还有超过4000个日子可以购买。