Meet Yana Lapikova, Vladimir Putin's Hot Personal Photographer

 

HotShot: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has appointed a glamorous former model as his 'personal photographer', triggering a flurry of comments why she was hired.

25-year-old ex-model Yana Lapikova, who contested for the Miss Moscow title in 2008, would work as an intern for Putin's two photographers and may eventually become a full-timer, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed.

 

"She is really a good photographer, and her modelling past is of no interest to us whatsoever because it's not a crime," Peskov was quoted as saying by RIA-Novosti. (AP Photo)

 

Peskov said the two regular photographers are "squeezed dry" by their exhaustive schedule, which he compared to "penal servitude."

 

But he said that finding one more photographer was hard because government pay is no match for salaries at news agencies. (AP Photo/Gleb Shchelkunov)

 

A photograph shot by Yana Lapikova: In an interview to Biznes (Business) FM radio, Yana said she was employed by Izvestia daily and currently is on leave before taking up the new job. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Yana Lapikova)

 

Samples of her work, include scantily-clad photographs of glamorous models, cats and birthday cakes, have drawn scathing comments over her appointment.

 

In the interview to the radio, Yana claimed that she has already worked in the Kremlin pool, covering President Dmitry Medvedev.