Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, wearing headphones, sits in the cockpit of a firefighting plane in Ryazan region August 10, 2010. Russia’s deadly summer heatwave could wipe up to $14 billion (8 billion pounds) off economic growth, economists said on Tuesday, as wildfires raged on in several provinces and forecasters said sweltering weather won’t abate this week. Putin, who has sought to burnish his action-man image and minimize political fallout from wildfires and drought, flew in a firefighting plane that dropped water on a blaze southeast of Moscow, state media reported. REUTERS/Ria Novosti/Pool/Alexei Nikolsky (RUSSIA — Tags: POLITICS DISASTER ENVIRONMENT)