He won popularity through slightly menacing campaign pledges such as 'Only mice don't vote for Barsik'.

And now it appears that after winning the unwavering support of the people of Barnaul in south central Russia, Barsik the cat has set his sights on the loftier goal of appearing on a bank note.

The feline first shot to fame last December when he topped an unofficial opinion poll of mayoral candidates for the city in a protest against corruption.

And with more than 90% of the vote, the cat clearly felt he had the mandate to pursue appearing on the new Ruble notes.

In a message posted out on his social media account (People's Mayor Barsik) the cat revealed his ambition to appear on either the 200 or 2,000 Ruble note. Russia is holding a public vote on new bank note designs and Barsik is hoping his supporters will see his dream's realised.

To read the complete article, see:
Cat that Russian city wants as mayor is now aiming to get face on bank note (http://metro.co.uk/2016/07/26/cat-that-russian-city-wants-as-mayor-is-now-aiming-to-get-face-on-bank-note-6031229/)