A man wears a protective face mask on a street, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Bangkok, Thailand, August 21, 2020. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Local folk artists perform next to a police line outside Congress building, as they wait for news from inside on who will be the country's next president, in Lima, Peru, Sunday, November 15, 2020. Interim President Manuel Merino announced his resignation following massive protests unleashed when lawmakers ousted President Martin Vizcarra. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

Police and the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia) servicemen patrol Red Square in front of the Spasskaya tower of the Kremlin in Moscow on October 24, 2022, as part of security reinforcement measures. (Photo by Alexander Nemenov/AFP Photo)

A view of an installation part of “We Walked the Earth” by artist Uffe Isolotto at Denmark's pavilion during the 59th Biennale of Arts exhibition in Venice, Italy, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (Photo by Antonio Calanni/AP Photo)

A model wears a creation for Schiaparelli's Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2022-2023 fashion collection, Monday, July 4, 2022 in Paris. (Photo by Lewis Joly/AP Photo)

A staff of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games holds a placard reading “Mask on” as USA's players react after their defeat in the women's gold medal match of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games ice hockey competition between Canada and USA, at the Wukesong Sports Centre in Beijing on February 17, 2022. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)

People take part in the celebrations of Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Vladivostok, Russia on May 9, 2023. (Photo by Tatiana Meel/Reuters)

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)