Putin’s imaginary successor wins 18 percent in new poll, even though he doesn’t exist

One in five Russians would vote for Vladimir Putin's anointed successor, Andrei Semyonov, in next year's presidential elections if the incumbent Kremlin leader decided not to run himself, a new poll has found.

There's a pretty important flaw in their candidate, however. Semyonov does not exist.

The question about imaginary candidate Semyonov in a recent survey about the next presidential election, due to be held March 18, 2018, was asked as an “experiment,” pollsters at the independent Levada Center said.