New York, Mar 10 : Maria Sergeyeva, a 24-year-old philosophy student and political activist, is emerging as a rising star in Russian politics.

Since a gushing speech praising Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and president Dmitry Medvedev at a recent pro-Kremlin rally, she has become an Internet sensation as the pin-up of the country's fervently patriotic youth movement.

Russia''s largest political blog had to ban further posts about `Masha' due to excessive traffic.

It may be the first step towards the fulfilment of her political ambitions.