New social game pokes fun at corrupt Russian politics

Here's a new social game idea that's ripe for the picking. (Are you listening, Zynga?) A new game called Politics, has arrived on the Russian social network/Facebook clone VKontakte and was designed as both a parody of the Russian government and a way to get younger people more engaged in the political process.

"This is the election year for Russia and people's interest to politics, already blended with pop culture, will grow," Max Masin, Politics developer and producer, says in a statement. "The idea behind the game combines the interactivity of social gaming with relevant, newsworthy content."

To play Politics you must be invited by a current player. Once you're in, you start out as an average Joe and work your way up to running for President, working your way through the Russian political system, which includes dealing with corruption, including bribery and kickbacks. Right now, the game is available exclusively through VKontakte, but the creators plans to release versions to other popular Russian social networks as well.

As for an eventual release on Facebook -- there's no word on that just yet, though an English-language rendition of this game (or something in the same vein) might be what apathetic Americans need to get revved up for the upcoming 2012 election year.