New Yorker Cover Lampoons Putin

Has Russian president Vladimir Putin taken up figure skating? Or with the 2014 Olympics in Sochi only eight days away, is he simply skating on thin ice?

In the run-up to the February 7 opening ceremonies, The New Yorker's February 3 cover, published online Monday, takes a satirical jab at Putin. In an illustration by Barry Blitt, whose work has appeared on more than 70 covers of the magazine, Putin is depicted as an Olympic figure skater, dressed in a red and blue skating costume, his chest exposed and his arms outstretched in a graceful pose. A panel of judges, all of whom are Putin in a variety of poses, but with the same unchanging expression, evaluate this display in the background.

Putin, under fire for Russia's "gay propaganda" law, approved last June, is "a gift to caricaturists (but to humanity in general, not so much)," says Blitt.