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 honor guard soldier stands at attention during a memorial religious service for those killed in the 1989 anti-communist uprising in University Square, in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, December 21, 2022. Participants and relatives of those killed marked the 33rd anniversary of the anti-communist uprising which started in Bucharest on Dec. 21, 1989 and left more than one thousand people dead and ended the rule of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. (Photo by Andreea Alexandru/AP Photo)

Bride Yulia Tagil sits on the backseat of a bike as she arrives for her alternative wedding ceremony on a square in Tel Aviv July 25, 2010. The alternative wedding ceremony was intended to demonstrate against the current situation in Israel, where the only way for Jews to get married by law is through the Chief Rabbinate. (Photo by Nir Elias/Reuters)

Belarussians in costumes sing songs during the traditional rite of Shchadrets (Schedry vecher or Generous Eve) in the village of Osovo, some 190 km from Minsk, Belarus, 13 January 2015. Shchadrets is a Belarusian folk holiday celebrated on the New Year's Eve in accordance with the Julian calendar (Old New Year). The holiday is similar to Koliady, when youth in costumes walk from house to house singing holiday songs, performing, and asking for a reward afterwards. (Photo by Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA)

A model presents a creation from the Jeremy Scott Spring/Summer 2015 collection during New York Fashion Week September 10, 2014. (Photo by Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

Revellers take part in the the 70th Annual Columbus Day Parade in New York, October 13, 2014. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

Students hold their weapons before the swearing in ceremony for the military students, in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, October 25, 2017. The Romanian Army is proudly celebrating their Army Day and marking 100-years since the landmark battle of Marasesti, a key World War I battle in 1917 when Romanian and Russian soldiers defeated German troops, halting a German offensive. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)