Putin is mocked online after Mozambique's 6ft 5in president towers over him in a photo the Kremlin 'tried to hide'

Russian President Vladimir Putin, standing just under 5ft 7in, was photographed looking dwarfed by Mozambique's President Daniel Chapo at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit in Moscow on Tuesday — with Kremlin photographers present but apparently ordered not to release the image. The Mozambican presidential office published the picture instead, alongside Getty Images, triggering a wave of online ridicule. Putin routinely wears platform shoes to boost his height and has long been known to be acutely sensitive about his stature.

Kremlin photographers released an alternative shot taken from a lower angle with both leaders' legs cropped out to make Putin appear taller.

Memes flooded social media, with one depicting Chapo as Gandalf and Putin as a barefoot hobbit, while another showed an even smaller Putin with the caption: 'Why did you enlarge Putin in your photo? Here's the original.'

Chapo, believed to stand at least 6ft 5in — reportedly taller by some accounts — posted about the Moscow visit on his own social media, apparently unaware the images would cause such embarrassment for his host.