A scandal in the making for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The former KGB boss has appointed a glamorous former model as his 'personal photographer', triggering a flurry of comments why she was hired.

Ex-model Yana Lapikova (25), who contested for the Miss Moscow title in 2008, would work as an intern for Putin's two photographers and may eventually become a full-timer.

"She is really a good photographer, and her modelling past is of no interest to us whatsoever because it's not a crime," Putin's spokesperson Peskov said.

Peskov said the two regular photographers are "squeezed dry" by their exhaustive schedule, which he compared to "penal servitude." But he said that finding one more photographer was hard because government pay is no match for salaries at news agencies.

Her work includes scantily-clad photographs of glamorous models, cats and birthday cakes, and have drawn scathing comments over her appointment.