Move over, Trump. A Russian Twitter celebrity wants the nuclear codes, too Behold presidential hopeful Ksenia Sobchak's tweets about protests, Putin, Crimea, and politics
Television host and socialite Ksenia Sobchak has announced her intention to run for Russian president next year. She first showed a serious interest in politics in late 2011, as a wave of protests swept Moscow, following disputed parliamentary elections that December. Subsequently, Sobchak’s interest in politics has faded somewhat, but she’s continued to write occasionally about the subject on Twitter, where she has more than 1.6 million followers. Meduza reviews the most memorable political tweets by this would-be Russian leader.
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Ksenia Sobchak tweets about the 2011-2012 protests 😷
How cool! I came to yoga, and the whole class is going to the rally! :)
So Onishchenko recommends against going to the protest because of ... the flu!!! What do we do now? The idea of going to Bolotnaya Square has become a serious health risk. :)
(On December 9, 2011 — ahead of a large protest planned at Bolotnaya Square, not far from the Kremlin — then Russian Chief Sanitary Inspector Gennady Onishchenko warned that protesters risked getting sick outside in the cold weather, and recommended staying home.)
[The police] have detained me.
If Ksenia Sobchak appeared in your dreams, it means the police will soon be raiding your home.
(On June 12, 2012, police raided Sobchak's Moscow apartment, seizing 1.1 million euros ($1.3 million), $522,392, and 485,325 rubles (about $8,500) in cash. At the time, her lawyer claimed the raid was tied to an investigation into her then boyfriend, opposition activist Ilya Yashin. Three months later, officials returned the money to Sobchak, without pressing any charges for tax evasion.)
Gudkov, [Alexey] Navalny... Now they want to throw everyone in jail, but they only want to rob me. I guess I lucked out.
Dmitry Gudkov: “You can end up in fine company, in prison.” Ksenia Sobchak: “They won't put me in with you, unfortunately. I'd only go to a women's prison. And yikes just imagine what [Elena] Vaenga fans would do to me there.”
(Ksenia Sobchak and Russian singer Elena Vaenga have had a long-standing public feud, where the two ridicule each other's television work.)
Ksenia Sobchak tweets about Putin 🐼
Every time Putin tells a joke, somewhere in Russia a crane dies.
Every time Putin tells a joke about homosexuality, somewhere a panda dies.
I've said this before: Putin hasn't been about money for a long time, but about “going down in history.” The [2014] Olympics are part of this, but appetites are growing.
Want to know Putin's secret? He doesn't know anything about [government] thievery, and that's why he doesn't age...
Oleg Kashin: “Politically, you're Mr. Putin's most effective weapon. But we're all his weapons, in different ways.” Ksenia Sobchak: “Do you honestly think I'm working for Mr. Putin? :) Are you being serious?”
Oleg Kashin: “Yeah what a conspiracy theory, Lordy!” Ksenia Sobchak: “Do you really think that everything that's happened with my family this year has been ‘staged’ and I'm actually Putin's Mata Hari? I truly can't believe it. :(”
Ksenia Sobchak tweets about Crimea ⚖️
If Putin returns Crimea to Russia without loss of life, then he'll go down in history as great. There's no use denying it. #JustTheFacts
Artak Gasparyan: “What a terrible example!!! [Okean Elzy frontman Svyatoslav] Vakarchuk was at Maidan. Serduchka had Russia Goodbye. And you come out in favor of the absorption of Crimea...” Ksenia Sobchak: “I've already written plenty about this. I think that, if it's bloodless (!!), Crimea will become ours, and it will be Putin's enormous victory.”
(In 2007, comedy pop singer Verka Serduchka was chosen to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki, Finland, with the song "Dancing Lasha Tumbai.” Many believe the tune's gibberish name was meant to sound like the phrase “Russia goodbye,” though Serduchka has denied this.)
Verka Serduchka - Dancing Lasha Tumbai (Ukraine) 2007 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
By the way, all my friends are against [the annexation of] Crimea. I alone think it's a brilliantly executed political move.
I've always said that the Donbass [the area of Eastern Ukraine now claimed by pro-Russian separatists] was a bargaining chip, and now [Russian presidential advisor on Ukraine Vladislav] Surkov has finally played it. And he's played it pretty well: an end to the sanctions and Crimea is condoned.
I'm not comparing Syria and Crimea. I'm comparing the principle — the principle of international law. If we demand it from the U.S., then we're required to observe it, too.
Ksenia Sobchak tweets about Russian politics 🍬
[2004 presidential candidate Irina] Khakamada is very smart. She says she left politics because of how impossible it is to work with opposition politicians.
Maxim Katz: “And how do you feel about [Pskov liberal politician Lev] Schlosberg? Just one post on your Instagram could put him in the Duma, along with Gudkov and the whole faction.” Ksenia Sobchak: “Oh c'mon, enough already. This is just weird kid stuff now. The Kremlin boys, not my Instagram, are what decides who makes it to the Duma. This is like a conversation from four years ago.”
I've figured it out. [2012 presidential candidate Mikhail] Prokhorov has been called on again to divert votes to himself. It's all an agreement. The Kremlin has understood that an alternative is needed.
I'd already decided not to vote in these [2016 parliamentary] elections, and here another perfect reason [to abstain] has arrived just in time. [Navalny's video explains that political parties receive federal funding for every vote cast in their favor.]
[Conservative lawmaker Yelena] Mizulina's next legislative initiative will be tied to the deadly impact of Chupa Chups [candy] on the nation's demographic situation...
Ksenia Sobchak tweets about her own presidential candidacy 🤳
Tikhon Dzyadko: “Oh my, it seems Ksenia Sobchak will be running for president, after all.“ Ksenia Sobchak: “Will you vote for me?”
Translations by Kevin Rothrock