 and wife Liudmila Narusova (right)Credit: East2West When her dad Anatoly became mayor of St Petersburg in the early Nineties, he is said to have given Putin a step into politics. Putin - then a taxi driver - was appointed an advisor to Anatoly's office in what was then known as Leningrad. In 1997 Sobchak was accused of embezzlement and fled to Paris, only returning two years later when Putin was made Bori){kind=link}
SHE was dubbed Putin’s god-daughter after the Russian despot was spotted at her orthodox christening.
But now glamorous socialite Ksenia Sobchak had sensationally fled Moscow after police reportedly were hunting her down amid claims of extortion and tax fraud.
The 40-year-old former presenter escaped to Lithuania via Belarus after police arrested her business partner in what she claims is a politically motivated move.
Ksenia – who was once named the 22nd most influential woman in Russia – was the Russian equivalent of Paris Hilton in the Noughties.
But on Tuesday night she gave Putin’s police the slip by booking flights to Turkey and Dubai as she fled Russia over land.