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)

A woman in a USA sash, who would help show U.S. President Barack Obama to his seat, waits with other women in traditional dress for the start of the ASEAN Summit gala dinner in Vientiane, Laos September 7, 2016. (Photo by Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Ferencvaros's David Siger lies on the ground to defend a free kick during the UEFA Champions League Group Stage match between Ferencvarosi TC and Juventus at Puskas Arena on November 4, 2020 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Bernadett Szabo/Reuters)

Lin Yufei and Gao Zijian of China perform in the gala exhibition on day three of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Cup of China at Huaxi Sports Center on November 8, 2020 in Chongqing, China. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

A ladyboy sеx worker wears a belt with a dollar sign on it while holding condoms and lube handed to her by Sisters, a transgendered outreach and community services organization in Pattaya, Thailand on August 25, 2016. Many of Thailand's ladyboys live in Pattaya, a large percentage of whom work in the sеx industry there. (Photo by Aaron Joel Santos/Getty Images/Aurora Creative)

Wearing a Foo Fighters mask, Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart heads back to his net after giving up a goal to the Boston Bruins during the third period at TD Garden, in Boston, Massachusetts on Thursday, November 17, 2022. (Photo by Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports)

Brandon Woodruff #53 of the Milwaukee Brewers is doused following a game against the Miami Marlins at American Family Field on September 11, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Thailand's Patsapong Amsam-ang waits under an umbrella during a break due to heavy rains in the men's pole vault final during the 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Phnom Penh on May 8, 2023. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP Photo)