In modern Russia there are no free elections, therefore the political elite is almost constant.

Photo: Valentina Matvienko, Mayor of St. Petersburg, attends the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on June 17, 2011 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Global business leaders have gathered in Russia for the three-day conference. (Photo by Alexander Aleshkin/Epsilon/Getty Images)

Donny Golden shares a laugh with dancers from the Irish American Society during the 250th annual St. Patrick's Day parade March 17, 2011 in New York City. The parade honors the patron saint of Ireland and marched for the first time in the U.S. on March 17, 1762, fourteen years before the Declaration of Independence.

Artist Ted Harrison makes final adjustments to his artwork created with poppies on the floor of St. Paul's Cathedral on November 10, 2011 in London, England. Mr. Harrison created the work on a 30 foot disc under the main dome of the cathedral with the intention of drawing attention to the 250,000 children worldwide currently under military orders. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Council staff clean a section of the rarely seen Minton tiled floor of the of the grand St. George's Hall on January 4, 2012 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

A woman holds her dog as it is blessed by a priest in Benalmadena, near Malaga, Spain, January 17, 2016. Hundreds of pet owners bring their animals to be blessed every year on the day of San Anton, Spain's patron saint of animals. (Photo by Jon Nazca/Reuters)

Members of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery fire a 41 gun salute in Hyde Park to mark the 60 anniversary of the accession of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on February 6, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Steam rises from Lake Superior as the ship St. Clair comes to harbor during some of the coldest temps of the year, Sunday, December 31, 2017, at Canal Park in Duluth, Minn. The St. Clair is a self-unloader built in 1976 at Sturgeon Bay, Wis., and is 770 feet long and has 26 hatches that open into 5 cargo holds, providing a load capacity of 45,000 tons. (Photo by David Joles/Star Tribune via AP Photo)