Vladimir Putin takes day off in remote Siberia to mark his 62nd birthday

His love of Siberia is well known, and Vladimir Putin has already visited more than any other Russian leader in history - so his choice for where to spend his birthday on 7 October is perhaps no surprise. 

'He is flying to Siberia, to the Siberian taiga,' announced his spokesman Dmitry Peskov late Monday evening. 'It is a location some 300-400 kilometres away from the nearest village.'

His venue remained a secret yesterday, but later in the week his is due in Novosibirsk to officially open one of the world's most spectacular new bridges, the third crossing in the city of the Ob River. The Olovozavodskoy Bridge - some 2,095 metres in length and for use by motor traffic - is the latest symbol of Siberia's strategic importance as Russia looks to connect with Asian markets.