Saint Petersburg, July 8 (AFP): The king of Russia’s porn industry said today he would run for mayor of St Petersburg in hope of bringing a sexual revolution to President Vladimir Putin’s native city.

Sergei Pryanishikov, who heads Russia’s only legal porn production company, said he wanted to “transform St Petersburg into Amsterdam, with its red light district and homosexual marriages.” “I want to follow the revolutionary politics of Peter the Great,” he said, referring to the tsar who built the imperial capital 300 years ago.

Pryanishikov, Russia’s very own Larry Flynt, churns out 20 to 30 X-rated films a month with his SP Company, bringing in annual sales worth some $1.8 million (1.6 million euros).

“I am certain to get the support of young people,” he said.

He is the 10th person to put himself forward as as candidate for St Petersburg mayor in elections due to be held on September 21.

Valentina Matviyenko, President Vladimir Putin's handpicked envoy to northwestern Russia, is widely seen as the favorite to win the vote