Russian TV journalist Ksenia Sobchak announced last month that she will run to be president of Russia at elections due in March 2018. She is the daughter of the late Anatoly Sobchak who was Mayor of St Petersburg in the 1990s and was a mentor to Vladimir Putin when he was starting in politics. Ksenia Sobchak says the situation in Russia is unjust and although it would be unlikely she could beat President Putin if he decides to run again she hopes to build a strong democratic coalition capable of winning at the following election.

(Photo: Russian journalist, former reality show host Ksenia Sobchak holds a press conference. Credit: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP)