Russian President Vladimir Putin took a bathyscaphe -- a self-propelled bubble-shaped submarine -- deep into the Black Sea on Tuesday to view remnants of a Byzantine-era shipwreck discovered just off the coast of Crimea.
Putin was photographed lowering himself into the "C-Explorer" submersible alongside members of the Russian Geographical Society before descending to see the 11th-century shipwreck that was discovered by divers from Rostov-on-Don in March.
Once making it down, Putin reportedly saw a variety of amphora -- a style of two-handled bottle old ships used to carry wine -- and other "interesting objects" that he hopes will be examined by experts, Russian website LifeNews reported.
"I think it will be interesting for professionals and the general public," Putin said of the shipwreck. "It will encourage all of us to ensure that even more attention is paid to national history, to search for something new and to use it for the present and the future."
Tuesday's dive wasn't the Russian president's first rodeo.
In August 2011, Putin dove to the bottom of the Taman Gulf and recovered two amphorae from the ancient city Phanagoria. In 2009, Putin took a mini-submarine to the bottom of Siberia's Lake Baikal, the world's oldest and deepest freshwater lake.