Playboy cover star wins Russian parliament seat

Former actress and Playboy model Maria Kozhevnikova has won a seat in parliament for Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party

Ex-Playboy model Maria Kozhenvinikova has won a seat in Parliament, becoming the latest in a string of glamorous women to support Vladimir Putin's push for a third term in power.

The 27 year old will join the party’s youth movement, the Young Guard, amid protests that recent parliamentary elections were rigged.

Mr Putin was President of Russia from 2000-2008, but was obliged to step down after two terms. He has recently announced his bid for presidency in the 2012 elections.

Ms Kozhevnikova posed nude for Russian Playboy two year ago. ‘I’ve watched how people have changed when they got close to Putin, not because they are afraid, but because they feel a calm and strong confidence,’ says Ms Kozhevnikova. ‘For me this is an absolutely big event in my life.’

It’s not the first time young, glamorous women have declared their support for Putin, who is currently the Russian Prime Minister. Last year, female journalism students stripped for a raunchy 2011 calendar to celebrate his 58th birthday, a former glamour model signed on as his personal photographer and, in July, a group of young women in bikinis held a car wash in support of the politician.

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