ON COURSE TO return for a third term as president of Russia, Vladimir Putin is very much in the spotlight at the minute but under that spotlight it has become clear to some that he may have undergone some cosmetic work.

As we already know, the 59-year-old is keen to show his people how much of a talented statesman he is.

He is afterall the man who can claim to be a martial arts expert, an adventurer, a sometime scientist, an airborne firefighter, a singer, and someone who can uncover sixth century artefacts on a scuba dive. Impressive.

But in a bid to boost his image further has the current Russian prime minister, who is all but certain to replace Dmitry Medvedev as president next year, undergone some cosmetic surgery?

His appearance at his political party’s conference in Moscow on Saturday certainly set tongues wagging, according to The Times (subscription required).

Beauty writer Alice Hart-Davis says that it’s all in the eyes where for Putin there was a distinct lack of wrinkles or bags leaving her in little doubt that he has had some work done.

The Telegraph reports that it’s not the first time there’s been rumours of Putin having had some cosmetic adjustments. He appeared at a press conference in Ukraine in October 2010 wearing a hefty amount of make-up to cover what looked like a bruise around his left eye.

The paper also reports on the fact that Russia’s liberal New Times magazine recently published an article entitled “What has happened with Putin’s face?” in which it cites four leading plastic surgeons who concluded that it was likely that Putin had undergone cosmetic surgery.

Judge for yourself. Here’s a few snaps of Putin from his last time as Russian president in 2008 and from his most recent public appearance on Saturday: