Russian journalist and TV host Yekaterina Gordon has announced plans to run for president in a March 2018 election that is widely expected to prolong Vladimir Putin's time in the Kremlin for another six years.
In a video posted on YouTube on October 30, Gordon -- who is also a singer-songwriter and has her own law firm -- asserted that she "most likely" will be the only candidate running without the open or tacit support of Putin's administration.
The announcement from Gordon, 37, came after Ksenia Sobchak -- a more prominent public figure who is the daughter of Putin's late boss and political mentor -- announced her candidacy.
Candidates must meet requirements in order to be placed on the ballot by the Central Election Commission before the campaign officially gets under way closer to the end of the year.
Gordon said that one main focus of her campaign would be the rights of single mothers in Russia.
"We are the country of single mothers nobody gives a damn about," she said in the statement.
She said that she is not "a representative of glamour and was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth" but grew up in modest circumstances, remarks that are likely to be seen as a dig at Sobchak.