Fed up with corruption and nepotism among local officials, residents of a far-flung Siberian city are yearning for a different kind of political representation.

Barsik the cat has been propelled to stardom after finishing far ahead of his human rivals for the post of mayor of Barnaul in an unofficial poll run by a popular regional social media page.

Political apathy and resentment over corruption scandals at city hall helped the 18-month-old Scottish Fold claw nearly 91% of more than 5,400 votes cast by Tuesday.

The poll, launched earlier this month by the Altai Online page on Russian social network Vk, has become the talk of the town in the city of 700,000 people located some 2,250 miles (3,600km) east of Moscow.

Barnaul, a city close to the picturesque Altai mountains, has been rocked by a series of high-profile corruption cases.

bbabo.Net