France has its own version of Maria Butina, a young Russian woman named Maria Katasonova, who happens to be an ardent supporter of Marine Le Pen. 
.@qz described her as: "a smoldering 21-yr-old Russian nationalist who somehow manages her time btw working for a high-ranking politician, heading up a 'Women for Marine' movement, studying law, & being part of a patriotic artists’ collective." qz.com/941383/maria-k…
On June 1, 2017, she posted this photo to her Instagram account.
It's of her and Alexander Torshin at an event at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Moscow.
It's of her and Alexander Torshin at an event at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Moscow.
Who's Alexander Torshin? Butina's pal/boss and ... "an associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin and longtime supporter of the NRA who reportedly also has ties to Russian security services and organized crime figures." politico.com/story/2018/07/…
Maria Katasonova's Instagram feed also includes photos of her and someone who appears to be Anna Chapman, the young woman famous for being part of a Russian spy ring in the US that the FBI rolled up in 2010.
This looks like it might be Chapman too.
Since being kicked out of the US, Chapman (like Katasonova and Butina) has become a real fan of Donald Trump: vanityfair.com/news/2017/01/a…
And that's all I got. TGIF.
Sorry, one more ... this caught my eye too. From Katasanova's Facebook page:
According to FB's translator, the caption reads, "Trump's International Relations Adviser, Carter page, made a presentation...This is already the 2nd his performance in Moscow in the last 6 months :)"
After Trump's victory, Page (who the campaign had disowned months earlier) traveled to Russia in December 2016 and gave a public lecture, from which this photo appears to be taken.
Quick word of clarification: I did not mean to suggest the parallels between Butina and Katasanova are perfect. While it appears Katasanova travels frequently to France, she works for a Russian politician, Yevgeny Fyodorov.
She's viewed by some as nothing more than a publicity-seeker. She threw an election night party for Trump in Moscow. @washingtonpost described her then as "a right-wing political activist who has become one of Russia’s most vocal Trump supporters." washingtonpost.com/news/worldview…
