boris tetov also attended the trump inauguration. vladimir putin technically had to run for re-election this year. theoretically he might have had competition in that election. a popular opposition in russia was very much opposed to putin. he announced he would run for the presidency of russia against putin because he was seen as a potential real threat to get even some minor percentage of the national vote. putin blocked him from running. they drummed up fake corruption charges against him which technically disqualified him from appearing on the ballot. he promised to keep campaigning. so russian courts soon ordered the campaign foundation to shut down as well. they wouldn't allow the real opposition guy to run against him, but putin still does want to look like an elected leader. so what he does is whenever he's up for election he handpicks people he's more comfortable running against. this year famously he picked a woman who is seen as the paris hilton of russia. she's a former reality star, a famous russian socialite and the daug