Following the recent publication of new photos of Vladimir Putin putting on an annual macho shirtless show in the Russian wilderness, Pavel Durov, the founder of the social networking sites VKontakte and Telegram, set up a challenge for his followers on Instagram and it's going viral.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXyV-HiF-pR/

Wrote Durov: “My instagram had to seriously step up the game to keep up with the increased competition from Mr. Putin's shirtless photos. If you're Russian, you have to join #PutinShirtlessChallenge (or face oblivion). Two rules from Putin – no photoshop, no pumping. Otherwise you're not an alpha.”

And his followers are stepping up to the challenge. Here are just a few:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BX0Chn3jUiy/?tagged=putinshirtlesschallenge

https://www.instagram.com/p/BX0MaswgPF0/?tagged=putinshirtlesschallenge

https://www.instagram.com/p/BX5C87AF_PT/?tagged=putinshirtlesschallenge

https://www.instagram.com/p/BX5ZnGLlf0d/?tagged=putinshirtlesschallenge

https://www.instagram.com/p/BX5WTgkgmdf/?tagged=putinshirtlesschallenge

https://www.instagram.com/p/BX5VUexAGc5/?tagged=putinshirtlesschallenge

https://www.instagram.com/p/BX5SiLajunV/?tagged=putinshirtlesschallenge

https://www.instagram.com/p/BX5RXEjgvg6/?tagged=putinshirtlesschallenge

https://www.instagram.com/p/BX5OS7kh88R/?tagged=putinshirtlesschallenge

https://www.instagram.com/p/BX5L_epDbh5/?tagged=putinshirtlesschallenge

https://www.instagram.com/p/BX5GvY9ADkb/?tagged=putinshirtlesschallenge