Unlikely Fame
Barsik
2015
The cat who topped an unofficial online poll to be mayor of a Russian city.
- Owner
- Residents of Barnaul, Russia
- Years
- 2015
- Known for
- Unlikely Fame
In 2015, residents of the Siberian city of Barnaul, frustrated with their political choices, threw their support behind an unexpected candidate in an informal online poll about who should be mayor: a placid grey-and-white cat named Barsik.
Barsik's candidacy was a light-hearted protest, a way for locals to register their dissatisfaction with the official options, and it quickly caught the public imagination. His face appeared on posters and across social media, and in the unofficial poll he reportedly drew far more support than the human hopefuls.
Cats cannot, of course, hold office, and Barsik's 'campaign' had no legal standing, but the story travelled around the world as a charming example of political satire. Barsik became a symbol of playful public protest, proving that sometimes a cat can say more about the mood of a city than any human politician.