Jailed Russian nationalist Girkin warns of 'sham' presidential election

FILE PHOTO: Russian nationalist Kremlin critic and former military commander Igor Girkin, also known as Igor Strelkov, who is charged with inciting extremist activity, sits behind a glass wall of an enclosure for defendants during a court hearing to consider an appeal against his detention, in Moscow, Russia August 29, 2023. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Pro-war Russian nationalist Igor Girkin, who is in custody awaiting trial for inciting extremism, said on Sunday he wanted to run for president even though he understood the March election would be "sham" with the winner already clear.

Girkin, who is also known by the alias Igor Strelkov, has repeatedly said Russia faces revolution and even civil war unless President Vladimir Putin's military top brass fight the war in Ukraine more effectively.