‘Russia’s Paris Hilton’ to challenge Vladimir Putin for presidency in 2018

 In the late 1990s, Mr Sobchak fell from grace and began to be hit with legal challenges and corruption allegations from opponents. He became ill from stress, and apparently was on the verge of a heart attack. President Yeltsin refused to intervene to help his opponent, and legend has it Mr Putin, then a Kremlin official, personally arranged a special operation to evacuate his former boss to Europe.