Former porn star Elena Berkova of Murmansk, Russia, used an Instagram video to declare her candidacy for president against Vladimir Putin in the 2018 election.
She apparently does not intend to run a stuffy old traditional sort of campaign, having chosen lingerie and smart glasses for her announcement video. This may be a dangerous indication that the entire world has become a Michael Bay film.
“I made this decision recently, because women are actively taking part in the presidential campaign,” said Berkova, referring to such previously declared contenders as former TV and radio host Ekaternia Gordon and TV personality Ksenia Sobchak. Additionally, model and TV presenter Anfisa Chekhova has promised to run for president if her Instagram post on the subject accumulates 200,000 likes. To date, Russia has not had a female president.
Berkova noted that the other female candidates “are from show business” as well and pointed out that she has a political resume, having run for mayor of Sochi. During that 2009 race, she billed herself as the candidate from “the Party of Love” and released a topless campaign ad. This was not enough to overcome pro-Kremlin candidate Anatoly Pakhomov, who won with 77 percent of the vote, according to the official tally, which was challenged as a fraudulent attempt to avoid a run-off vote by second-place finisher Boris Nemtsov.
Oddly enough, given her history of running in various states of undress, one of Berkova’s platform proposals is “clothing censorship,” including strict regulations on the minimum length of skirts.
“She also proposed to restore the Soviet-era law that ordered prison sentences to ‘parasites’ or citizens who did not work without a valid reason and introduce a ‘tax on poverty.’ At the same time, she would offer state credit with no interest to those who start small businesses,” Russia’s RT.com said of Berkova’s announcement video.
“She said that she wants to make divorce almost impossible for men through taxes and red tape. She also promised to introduce sex education and sex exams in school, as well as to pass a law that would require future parents to obtain a childbirth license from the state, by proving their good health and tax discipline,” the RT summary of her platform continues.
“I plan to make divorces almost impossible for men, as these days women bear almost all the responsibility for children,” she explained, as quoted by the UK Daily Mail. She said mandatory sex exams are needed because “often our youth still do not know about sexual legal norms, hygiene, not to mention pleasure.”
Most dramatically, Berkova declared that she is “fed up with Weinsteins” and therefore wants the death penalty for sexual harassment.
Her most formidable opponent in the race, incumbent President Vladimir Putin, may or may not remain fully clothed throughout his campaign. Unfortunately for Berkova, his advantages include being the authoritarian ruler of a police state, extensive experience in skulduggery by virtue of his KGB career, and being substantially older than the specified minimum age of 35 for the presidency, while she is only 32.