Zhirinovsky nat'list

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</div><div><p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;">In Moscow, Torshin had partnered with Maria Butina, who would become the face of gun rights in Russia. She gained national prominence in 2011, competing in the Youth Primaries of the Young Guard of United Russia – a political competition sponsored by the Kremlin to cultivate fresh political talent. Tall and poised, with a spiky brown haircut, Butina, then 22, had grown up with guns, learning to hunt with her father in her home region of Altai, in southern Siberia. Her <a href="http://mp2011.ru/people/776/" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">platform</a>in the contest included liberalizing Russia’s gun laws. Torshin was captivated. He hired Butina as a special assistant. That same year, she became the founding chair of Russia’s new gun group: the Right to Bear Arms.<p class="p1" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;">For an upstart organization, the Right to Bear Arms’ conference was crawling with Russian government officials. Torshin delivered the keynote address, and Butina presented him and a half-dozen other Russian politicians – including the ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky – with honorary memberships. (Butina has denied taking even “one coin” in government money.) Leading the American cohort was the NRA’s president, Keene, who delivered his address promoting Russo-American unity. In pictures, Keeneposed next to Butina – now sporting long red hair – grinning like a schoolboy.In late 2013, Torshin and Butina hosted an NRA delegation, along with other American gun-rights activists, at a Right to Bear Arms convention in Moscow. A lavish affair, staged in an upscale convention center, the event doubled as a coming-out party for Torshin’s young protégé. They arranged private meals for American guests, who feasted on Russian delicacies and downed flavored vodkas. Leggy models in mini-skirts put on a fashion show, flashing garter belts that doubled as conceal-carry gun holsters. “I was impressed with the grassroots movement they created,” says Gottlieb, of the Second Amendment Foundation. “I wish we had as many good-looking young ladies involved in our gun-rights movement here in the United States.”<p times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;">Putin did not attend, but those in the audience felt his influence. “I make the assumption that they have the blessing of more than just Alexander Torshin, because he’s an upper-ranking member of Putin’s party,” Gottlieb says. “He’s not going to do things that are going to upset Putin.” (Despite this cleareyed assessment, Gottlieb rejects the notion that the Russians and the NRA were in cahoots in 2016.)<p class="" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" style="margin: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; padding: 0.9375rem 0px;">Right to Bear Arms’ international outreach extended to <a href="https://vk.com/albums-62707439" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: 600; outline: none; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; transition: color 0.24s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1); position: relative;">John Bolton</a>, the former U.N. ambassador and longtime NRA activist, who now serves as President Trump’s national security adviser. In late 2013, a video appeared online of Bolton delivering an address to Right to Bear Arms, as the group was pursuing a gun-rights amendment to the Russian constitution. (That campaign – like much of Right to Bear Arms’ political agenda – has foundered.) Through his bushy mustache, Bolton praised Putin’s autocratic country as a “force for democracy in the world,” and encouraged the Russian activists. “Good luck on your journey,” he said, “into a new century of freedom.”</div><div>=</div><div>
</div><div><table class="infobox vcard" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); border-spacing: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); margin: 0.5em 0px 0.5em 1em; padding: 0.2em; float: right; clear: right; line-height: 1.5em; width: 22em;"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">Vladimir Zhirinovsky
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Duma" title="State Duma" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">MP</a></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">
</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;" /></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; background: lavender;">Leader of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Democratic_Party_of_Russia" title="Liberal Democratic Party of Russia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Liberal Democratic Party</a></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; border-bottom: none;"><div style="width: 257px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: lavender;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incumbent" title="Incumbent" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Incumbent</a></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; border-bottom: none;">Assumed office 
19 April 1992</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; background: lavender;">Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party group in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Duma" title="State Duma" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">State Duma</a></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; border-bottom: none;"><div style="width: 257px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: lavender;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incumbent" title="Incumbent" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Incumbent</a></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; border-bottom: none;">Assumed office 
21 December 2011</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Preceded by</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Lebedev(politician)" title="Igor Lebedev (politician)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Igor Lebedev</a></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; border-bottom: none;">In office
12 December 1993 – 18 January 2000</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Succeeded by</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Lebedev(politician)" title="Igor Lebedev (politician)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Igor Lebedev</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; background: lavender;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Deputy_Chairmen_of_the_State_Duma" title="List of Deputy Chairmen of the State Duma" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Deputy Chairman of the State Duma</a></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; border-bottom: none;">In office
18 January 2000 – 21 December 2011</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; background: lavender;">Member of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Duma" title="State Duma" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">State Duma</a></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; border-bottom: none;"><div style="width: 257px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: lavender;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incumbent" title="Incumbent" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Incumbent</a></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; border-bottom: none;">Assumed office 
12 December 1993</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; background: lavender;">Personal details</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Born</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">Vladimir Volfovich Eidelstein
25 April 1946 (age 72)
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaty" title="Almaty" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Alma Ata</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakh_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kazakh SSR</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Soviet Union</a>
(now <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaty" title="Almaty" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Almaty</a>, Kazakhstan)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Nationality</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">Russian</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Political party</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Democratic_Party_of_Russia" title="Liberal Democratic Party of Russia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Liberal Democratic Party of Russia</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Spouse(s)</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">Galina Lebedeva (1971–1978; divorced)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Children</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Lebedev(politician)" title="Igor Lebedev (politician)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Igor Lebedev</a>
Oleg Gazdarov
Anastasia Petrova</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alma_mater" title="Alma mater" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Alma mater</a></th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_State_University" title="Moscow State University" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Moscow State University</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Occupation</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">Politician</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Profession</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">Lawyer</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Awards</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><div class="plainlist"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order%22For_Merit_to_the_Fatherland%22" title="Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"</a> (Russia, 2nd, 3rd, 4th class)<ul style="list-style: none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: inherit;"><li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Alexander_Nevsky" title="Order of Alexander Nevsky" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Order of Alexander Nevsky</a>(Russia, 2015)</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Honour(Russia)" title="Order of Honour (Russia)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Order of Honour</a> (Russia, 2008)</li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Signature</th><td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Signature_of_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky.png" class="image" title="Vladimir Zhirinovsky's signature" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Signature_of_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky.png/128px-Signature_of_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky.png" width="128" height="76" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Signature_of_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky.png/192px-Signature_of_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Signature_of_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky.png/256px-Signature_of_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky.png 2x" data-file-width="286" data-file-height="170" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" /></a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; background: lavender;">Military service</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Allegiance</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">Soviet Union, Russian Federation</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Rank</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">Colonel</td></tr></tbody></table><table role="presentation" class="mbox-small" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 4px 0px 4px 1em; box-sizing: border-box; width: 238px; line-height: 1.25em; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image" style="border: none; padding: 2px 0px 2px 0.9em; text-align: center;"><div class="center" style="width: 50.9219px;"><div class="floatnone" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Audio-input-microphone.svg/50px-Audio-input-microphone.svg.png" width="50" height="50" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Audio-input-microphone.svg/75px-Audio-input-microphone.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Audio-input-microphone.svg/100px-Audio-input-microphone.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="48" data-file-height="48" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></div></div></td><td class="mbox-text plainlist" style="border: none; padding: 0.25em 0.9em; width: 220.844px; line-height: 1.1em;"><div class="haudio"><div style="padding: 4px 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vladimir_Zhirinovskij_voice.oga" title="File:Vladimir Zhirinovskij voice.oga" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Vladimir Zhirinovsky's voice</a></div><div><div class="mediaContainer" style="position: relative; width: 220px;"><div class="mwPlayerContainer k-player" style="background: rgb(0, 0, 0); width: 220px; height: 20px; position: relative;"><div class="videoHolder" style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; overflow: hidden;"><div class="mwEmbedPlayer" id="mwe_player_0" style="width: 220px; height: 20px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px;"><img src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkqAcAAIUAgUW0RjgAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" class="playerPoster" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 100px; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; height: 20px; width: 20px;" /></div><div title="Play clip" class="play-btn-large" style="width: 70px; height: 55px; background: url("/w/extensions/TimedMediaHandler/MwEmbedModules/EmbedPlayer/resources/skins/kskin/images/ksprite.png?3c85d") 0px -433px no-repeat; position: absolute; cursor: pointer; border: none; left: 110px; top: 10px; margin-left: -35px; margin-top: -27.5px;" /></div><div class="ui-state-default ui-widget-header ui-helper-clearfix control-bar block" style="zoom: 1; border-width: 0px 0px 1px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(200, 200, 200); border-left-color: rgb(200, 200, 200); border-image: initial; background: url("/w/extensions/TimedMediaHandler/MwEmbedModules/EmbedPlayer/resources/skins/kskin/images/ksprite.png?3c85d") 0px -81px repeat-x; 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See <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Media" title="Help:Media" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">media help</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><table class="vertical-navbox nowraplinks vcard hlist" style="float: right; clear: right; width: 22em; margin: 0px 0px 1em 1em; background: rgb(249, 249, 249); padding: 0.2em; border-spacing: 0.4em 0px; text-align: center; line-height: 1.4em; border: 4px double rgb(214, 157, 54);"><tbody><tr><th style="padding: 0px; line-height: 20.328px;"><table style=""><tbody><tr><td style="background: rgb(40, 98, 179); vertical-align: middle; padding: 5px;">
</td><td style="background: rgb(40, 98, 179); vertical-align: middle; padding: 6px; width: 146px;">This article is part of 
a series about
<a class="mw-selflink selflink" style="text-decoration: inherit; background: none; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; white-space: nowrap;">Vladimir Zhirinovsky</a></td></tr></tbody></table></th></tr><tr><td style="padding: 0.3em;"><hr style="height: 1px; background-color: rgb(162, 169, 177); border: 0px; margin: 0.2em 0px;" />Chairman of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Democratic_Party_of_Russia" title="Liberal Democratic Party of Russia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">Liberal Democratic Party of Russia</a>Incumbent<ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229.5%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%2300528c%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E");"><li style="margin: 0px; display: inline;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#Early_life_and_politics" title="Vladimir Zhirinovsky" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">Early life</a></li><li style="margin: 0px; display: inline;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky" title="Political positions of Vladimir Zhirinovsky" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">Political positions</a></li></ul><hr style="height: 1px; background-color: rgb(162, 169, 177); border: 0px; margin: 0.2em 0px;" />Elections<ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229.5%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%2300528c%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E");"><li style="margin: 0px; display: inline;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_history_of_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky" title="Electoral history of Vladimir Zhirinovsky" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">Electoral history</a></li><li style="margin: 0px; display: inline;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_presidential_election,1991" title="Russian presidential election, 1991" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">1991</a></li><li style="margin: 0px; display: inline;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_presidential_election,1996" title="Russian presidential election, 1996" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">1996</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky_presidential_campaign,1996" title="Vladimir Zhirinovsky presidential campaign, 1996" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">campaign</a>)</li><li style="margin: 0px; display: inline;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_presidential_election,2000" title="Russian presidential election, 2000" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">2000</a></li><li style="margin: 0px; display: inline;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_presidential_election,2008" title="Russian presidential election, 2008" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">2008</a></li><li style="margin: 0px; display: inline;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_presidential_election,2012" title="Russian presidential election, 2012" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">2012</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky%27s_donkey_video" title="Vladimir Zhirinovsky's donkey video" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">donkey video</a>)</li><li style="margin: 0px; display: inline;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_presidential_election,2018" title="Russian presidential election, 2018" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">2018</a>(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky_presidential_campaign,2018" title="Vladimir Zhirinovsky presidential campaign, 2018" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">campaign</a>)</li></ul><hr style="height: 1px; background-color: rgb(162, 169, 177); border: 0px; margin: 0.2em 0px;" /><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Russian_Federation.svg" class="image" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;"><img alt="Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation.svg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Russian_Federation.svg/40px-Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Russian_Federation.svg.png" width="40" height="47" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Russian_Federation.svg/60px-Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Russian_Federation.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Russian_Federation.svg/80px-Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Russian_Federation.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="479" data-file-height="568" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px;" /></a><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Vladimir_Zhirinovsky" class="extiw" title="commons:Category:Vladimir Zhirinovsky" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none; white-space: nowrap;">Media gallery</a></td></tr><tr><td style=""><div class="plainlinks hlist navbar mini" style="display: inline;"><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229.5%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%2300528c%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); display: inline; white-space: nowrap; line-height: inherit;"><li class="nv-view" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; word-spacing: -0.125em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Zhirinovsky_sidebar" title="Template:Zhirinovsky sidebar" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><abbr title="View this template" style="border-bottom: none; cursor: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: initial; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps;">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; word-spacing: -0.125em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template_talk:Zhirinovsky_sidebar&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Template talk:Zhirinovsky sidebar (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><abbr title="Discuss this template" style="border-bottom: none; cursor: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: initial; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps;">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit" style="margin: 0px; display: inline; word-spacing: -0.125em;"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Zhirinovsky_sidebar&action=edit" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none !important; padding: 0px !important;"><abbr title="Edit this template" style="border-bottom: none; cursor: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: initial; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps;">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_language" title="Russian language" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Russian</a>: Влади́мир Во́льфович Жирино́вский; né Eidelstein (Russian: Эйдельште́йн); born 25 April 1946) is a Russian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultranationalism" title="Ultranationalism" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">ultranationalist</a> politician and leader of the LDPR party (formerly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Democratic_Party_of_Russia" title="Liberal Democratic Party of Russia" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Liberal Democratic Party of Russia</a>). He is fiercely nationalist and has been described as "a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showman" title="Showman" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">showman</a> of Russian politics, blending populist and nationalist rhetoric, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Western_sentiment" title="Anti-Western sentiment" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">anti-Western invective</a> and a brash, confrontational style".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-clown-showman-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[1]</a> His views have sometimes been described by western media as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascist" class="mw-redirect" title="Fascist" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">fascist</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-economist-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-newrussia-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-abroadathome-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a>
<div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;">
</div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#Early_life_and_politics" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1Early life and politics</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#Founding_of_the_Liberal_Democratic_Party" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2Founding of the Liberal Democratic Party</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#Views" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3Views</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#The_Last_Break_Southward" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3.1The Last Break Southward</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#Foreign_relations_and_military_excursions" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3.2Foreign relations and military excursions</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#Controversies" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4Controversies</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#Violent_controversies" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.1Violent controversies</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#Donkey_video_for_2012_presidential_election" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.2Donkey video for 2012 presidential election</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#Other_controversies" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.3Other controversies</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#Political_positions" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">5Political positions</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#Electoral_history" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">6Electoral history</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#See_also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">7See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">8References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#External_links" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">9External links</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Early life and politics[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vladimir_Zhirinovsky&action=edit&section=1&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Early life and politics" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Zhirinovsky was born in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaty" title="Almaty" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Almaty</a>, the capital of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakh_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic</a>, modern-day Kazakhstan. His father, Volf Isaakovich Eidelshtein (or Wolf Andreyevich Eidelshtein), was a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Poland" title="History of the Jews in Poland" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Polish Ashkenazi Jew</a>, and his mother, Alexandra Pavlovna (née Makarova), was of Russian background.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-antisemitism-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a>[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">dead link</a>]<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a>[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">dead link</a>] His paternal grandfather was a wealthy industrialist from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kostopil" title="Kostopil" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kostopil</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-newsru.co.il-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a> who owned the largest timber factory in (what is now) Ukraine and was head of the Jewish community.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-newsru.com.il2-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a> His grandfather's mill today has an income of $32 million a year, and over the years Zhirinovsky has demanded successive Ukrainian governments return it to him.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[11]</a>Four of Zhirinovsky's relatives had been killed during the Holocaust. Zhirinovsky's parents split while he was still an infant. Abandoning the family, Zhirinovsky's father, Wolf Eidelstein, emigrated to Israel in 1949 (together with his new wife Bella and his brother), where he worked as an agronomist in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Aviv" title="Tel Aviv" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Tel Aviv</a>. Zhirinovsky's father was a member of the right-wing nationalist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herut" title="Herut" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Herut</a> party in Israel, and died in 1983 when he was run over by a bus near <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizengoff_Street" title="Dizengoff Street" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Dizengoff Street</a> in Tel Aviv.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-newsru.co.il-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a> Zhirinovsky did not find out the details of his father's life in Israel until many years later, or even that he had died.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-newsru.co.il-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-newsru.com.il2-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[10]</a> Zhirinovsky claims that he is an Orthodox Christian.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[12]</a>In July 1964, Zhirinovsky moved from Almaty to Moscow, where he began his studies in the Department of Turkish Studies, Institute of Asian and African Studies at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_State_University" title="Moscow State University" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Moscow State University</a> (MSU), from which he graduated in 1969. Zhirinovsky then went into <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_service" title="Military service" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">military service</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tbilisi" title="Tbilisi" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Tbilisi</a> during the early 1970s. He would later get a law degree and work at various posts in state committees and unions. He was awarded a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doktor_nauk" title="Doktor nauk" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Dr.Sci.</a> in philosophy by MSU in 1998. Although he participated in some reformist groups, Zhirinovsky was largely inconsequential in Soviet political developments during the 1980s. While he contemplated a role in politics, a nomination attempt for a seat as a People's Deputy in 1989 was quickly abandoned.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a> In 1989, he served as a director of Shalom, a Jewish cultural organization; unknown in Jewish circles before, he is thought to have been invited to join by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Zionist_Committee_of_the_Soviet_Public" title="Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet Public" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet Public</a>, but subsequently forcefully opposed its influence in the group.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[14]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Founding of the Liberal Democratic Party[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vladimir_Zhirinovsky&action=edit&section=2&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Founding of the Liberal Democratic Party" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable" style="font-style: italic; padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">See also: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Democratic_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union</a></div><div class="thumb tleft" style="float: left; clear: left; margin: 0.5em 1.4em 1.3em 0px; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 222px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vladimir_Putin_with_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky-1.jpg" class="image" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Vladimir_Putin_with_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky-1.jpg/220px-Vladimir_Putin_with_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky-1.jpg" width="220" height="147" class="thumbimage" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Vladimir_Putin_with_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky-1.jpg/330px-Vladimir_Putin_with_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky-1.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Vladimir_Putin_with_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky-1.jpg/440px-Vladimir_Putin_with_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky-1.jpg 2x" data-file-width="500" data-file-height="334" style="border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); vertical-align: middle; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /></a><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vladimir_Putin_with_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky-1.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 viewBox=%220 0 11 15%22 width=%2215%22 height=%2211%22%3E %3Cg id=%22magnify-clip%22 fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%23000%22%3E %3Cpath id=%22bigbox%22 d=%22M1.509 1.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22/%3E %3Cpath id=%22smallbox%22 d=%22M-1.499 6.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22/%3E %3C/g%3E %3C/svg%3E"); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none;" /></div>Zhirinovsky with Vladimir Putin in 2000</div></div></div>In April 1991 Zhirinovsky, along with Vladimir Bogachev, took initiatives which led to the founding of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Democratic_Party_of_Russia" title="Liberal Democratic Party of Russia" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Liberal Democratic Party</a>, the second registered party in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Soviet Union</a> and therefore the first officially sanctioned <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition(parliamentary)" title="Opposition (parliamentary)" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">opposition party</a>. According to the former <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPSU_Politburo" class="mw-redirect" title="CPSU Politburo" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">CPSU Politburo</a> member <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Nikolaevich_Yakovlev" class="mw-redirect" title="Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev</a>, this party started as a joint project of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Communist Party of the Soviet Union" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Communist Party of the Soviet Union</a> (CPSU) leadership and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KGB" title="KGB" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">KGB</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-jewish-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[15]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-nuclear-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a> Yakovlev wrote in his memoirs that KGB director <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Kryuchkov" title="Vladimir Kryuchkov" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Vladimir Kryuchkov</a>presented the project of the puppet LDPR party at a meeting with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev" title="Mikhail Gorbachev" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Mikhail Gorbachev</a> and informed him about the selection of the LDPR leader. According to Yakovlev, the name of the party was chosen by KGB General <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philipp_Bobkov" title="Philipp Bobkov" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Philipp Bobkov</a>. However, Bobkov said that he was against the creation of "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Vasilyevich_Zubatov" class="mw-redirect" title="Sergei Vasilyevich Zubatov" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Zubatov's</a> pseudo-party under KGB control that would direct the interests and sentiments of certain social groups".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[17]</a><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 222px;">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pv-zhirinovsky-v-v-2004-money.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 viewBox=%220 0 11 15%22 width=%2215%22 height=%2211%22%3E %3Cg id=%22magnify-clip%22 fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%23000%22%3E %3Cpath id=%22bigbox%22 d=%22M1.509 1.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22/%3E %3Cpath id=%22smallbox%22 d=%22M-1.499 6.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22/%3E %3C/g%3E %3C/svg%3E"); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none;" /></div>Zhirinovsky in 2004 freely handing out money to the public and random passersby, in a famous gesture.</div></div></div>Zhirinovsky's first political breakthrough came in June 1991 when he came third in Russia's first <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_presidential_election,1991" title="Russian presidential election, 1991" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">presidential election</a>, gathering more than six million votes or 7.81%. Afterwards, the LDPR garnered a reputation as an ineffective vehicle for opposition against the government, and one that lacked either credibility or authenticity,[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">citation needed</a>]particularly given Zhirinovsky's vocal support for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_coup_attempt_of_1991" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet coup attempt of 1991" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Soviet coup attempt of 1991</a>. This view was further encouraged by rumors, denied by Zhirinovsky,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-brit-18" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[18]</a> that he was an agent of the KGB and that the LDPR was a farcical creation meant to either discredit or distract earnest opposition to the government. Such impressions would last even as the Soviet Union was dissolved and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_the_Russian_Federation" title="Communist Party of the Russian Federation" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Russian Communist Party</a> itself took an opposition role. In 1992 Zhirinovsky made contact with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Marie_Le_Pen" title="Jean-Marie Le Pen" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Jean-Marie Le Pen</a>, leader at that time of France's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_National(France)" class="mw-redirect" title="Front National (France)" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Front National</a> (FN). <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Limonov" title="Eduard Limonov" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Eduard Limonov</a> of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National-Bolshevik_Party" class="mw-redirect" title="National-Bolshevik Party" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">National-Bolshevik Party</a> introduced the men to each other and the FN later "provided logistical support [to the LDPR], including computers and fax machines". Zhirinovsky suggested establishing the International Centre of Right-wing Parties in Moscow and invited Le Pen to Moscow.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-19" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[19]</a>The Liberal Democratic Party remained an important force in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Russia" title="Politics of Russia" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Russian politics</a>. At the height of its fortunes, the LDPR gathered 23% of the vote in the 1993 Duma elections and achieved a broad representation throughout the country – the LDPR being the top vote-getter in 64 out of 87 regions. This fact encouraged Zhirinovsky to once again vie for the presidential office, this time against incumbent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin" title="Boris Yeltsin" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Boris Yeltsin</a>. The fact that Yeltsin's candidacy seemed seriously challenged by Russian nationalist groups and a rejuvenated Communist Party alarmed many outside observers, particularly in the Western world, who expressed concern that such developments posed a serious threat to the survival of Russian democracy, already in a very fragile state. Zhirinovsky became a focal point of harsh criticism and seemed the living embodiment of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authoritarianism" title="Authoritarianism" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">authoritarianism</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militarism" title="Militarism" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">militarism</a> in modern Russia. While some observers inclined to consider his controversial statements as stark efforts to drum up nationalist support, not viewable as anything more serious than electoral fodder meant for domestic consumption, there was great consternation at the fact that in February 1996, months before a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_presidential_election,1996" title="Russian presidential election, 1996" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">presidential election</a>, Zhirinovsky placed second in opinion polls, behind Communist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gennady_Zyuganov" title="Gennady Zyuganov" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Gennady Zyuganov</a> and ahead of Boris Yeltsin. In the end, however, Zhirinovsky placed fifth with a 5.7% share in the first round of voting. Since then, the party's fortunes have stabilized somewhat, with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_legislative_election,2003" title="Russian legislative election, 2003" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">2003 election</a> seeing a LDPR vote share of 11.7%. In 2004, Zhirinovsky declined to even <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_presidential_election,2004" title="Russian presidential election, 2004" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">be nominated by the party</a>, leaving that role to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleg_Malyshkin" title="Oleg Malyshkin" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Oleg Malyshkin</a>, who received 2% support from voters.<div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 222px;">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vladimir_Putin_with_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky-2.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 viewBox=%220 0 11 15%22 width=%2215%22 height=%2211%22%3E %3Cg id=%22magnify-clip%22 fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%23000%22%3E %3Cpath id=%22bigbox%22 d=%22M1.509 1.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22/%3E %3Cpath id=%22smallbox%22 d=%22M-1.499 6.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22/%3E %3C/g%3E %3C/svg%3E"); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none;" /></div>Zhirinovsky and Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in 2000</div></div></div>For his own part, Zhirinovsky has done a great deal to foster a reputation as a loud and boisterous <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populism" title="Populism" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">populist</a> who speaks on behalf of the Russian nation and people, even when the things he says are precisely what many people, at home or abroad, do not want to hear. Zhirinovsky infamously promised voters in 1991 that if he were elected, free <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vodka" title="Vodka" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">vodka</a> would be distributed to all. Similarly, he once remarked, during a political rally inside a Moscow department store, that if he were made president, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwear" class="mw-redirect" title="Underwear" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">underwear</a> would be freely available.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-Fedarko-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[20]</a> Zhirinovsky has on several occasions become involved in altercations with other politicians and debate opponents. As a candidate, he also took part in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_presidential_election,2000" title="Russian presidential election, 2000" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">2000</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_presidential_election,2008" title="Russian presidential election, 2008" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">2008 presidential elections</a>, promising a "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_state" title="Police state" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">police state</a>",<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-nuclear-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[16]</a> and to institute summary executions. A BBC documentary from 1995 showed Zhirinovsky telling the crowd at a campaign rally: "Help us, and you'll never have to vote again! I'm not saying, "Vote for us and maybe in 20 years' time somebody will do something". No, these will be the last elections! The last ones!".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-BBC-21" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[21]</a> Some commentators call Zhirinovsky a fascist or a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-fascism" title="Neo-fascism" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">neo-fascist</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-economist-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-newrussia-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-abroadathome-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Views</h2><div class="thumb tleft" style="float: left; clear: left; margin: 0.5em 1.4em 1.3em 0px; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 222px;">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zhirinovsky_Vladimir.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 viewBox=%220 0 11 15%22 width=%2215%22 height=%2211%22%3E %3Cg id=%22magnify-clip%22 fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%23000%22%3E %3Cpath id=%22bigbox%22 d=%22M1.509 1.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22/%3E %3Cpath id=%22smallbox%22 d=%22M-1.499 6.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22/%3E %3C/g%3E %3C/svg%3E"); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none;" /></div>Zhirinovsky speaking at a pre-election meeting in 1999</div></div></div>Zhirinovsky has expressed admiration for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,1996" title="United States presidential election, 1996" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">1996 United States presidential election</a> contender <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Buchanan" title="Pat Buchanan" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Pat Buchanan</a>, referring positively to a comment in which Buchanan labeled the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress" title="United States Congress" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">United States Congress</a> "Israeli-occupied territory." Zhirinovsky said that both countries were "under occupation." and that "to survive, we could set aside places on U.S. and Russian territories to deport this small but troublesome tribe." Buchanan strongly rejected this endorsement, saying he would provide safe haven to persecuted minorities if Zhirinovsky were ever elected Russia's president, eliciting a harsh response by Zhirinovsky: "You soiled your pants as soon as you got my congratulations. Who are you afraid of: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism" title="Zionism" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Zionists</a>?"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-buchanan-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[22]</a> Zhirinovsky repeatedly denied his father's Jewishness until he published Ivan Close Your Soul in July 2001, describing how his father, Volf Isaakovich Eidelshtein, changed his surname from Eidelshtein to Zhirinovsky. He <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetoric" title="Rhetoric" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">rhetorically</a> asked, "Why should I reject Russian blood, Russian culture, Russian land, and fall in love with the Jewish people only because of that single drop of blood that my father left in my mother's body?"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-antisemitism-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[5]</a> Another frequently cited quote from Zhirinovsky is "My mother was Russian and my father was a lawyer". Zhirinovsky later disowned the statement, after researching his father's life in Israel (where, after leaving Zhrinovsky's mother, he had immigrated in 1949 with a new wife, and worked as an agronomist in Tel Aviv). Discussing the statement, Zhirinovsky says: "Journalists mocked me: for saying I was the son of a lawyer. And I am really the son of an agronomist." Discussing his father, Zhirinovsky says with tears in his eyes: "All my life I was looking for him. I believed that he was alive. I believed that someday he would find me... But there is a silver lining. I tried to imitate him... And I was able to achieve a certain position in life, even without the support of my father."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-newsru.co.il-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a>Zhirinovsky has Israeli relatives, including his uncle and cousin, who he met and befriended for the first time only after discovering more about his family's story in Israel. Zhirinovsky's Israeli family did not know that he was a famous celebrity and politician in Russia, but responded warmly to his invitation to stay with him in Moscow. Zhirinovsky has led a number of official Russian delegations to Israel, on behalf of the Russian government. Visiting Israel, he says that he is concerned particularly about the economic situation for the more than one million <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Jews_in_Israel" title="Russian Jews in Israel" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Russians living in Israel</a>. He also states that "Russia will never allow any kind of violence against Israel".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-newsru.co.il-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[9]</a><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 222px;">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%D0%A6%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F%D0%B2%D1%80%D1%83%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%83%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D1%85%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%A0%D0%A4_21_May_2015_37.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 viewBox=%220 0 11 15%22 width=%2215%22 height=%2211%22%3E %3Cg id=%22magnify-clip%22 fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%23000%22%3E %3Cpath id=%22bigbox%22 d=%22M1.509 1.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22/%3E %3Cpath id=%22smallbox%22 d=%22M-1.499 6.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22/%3E %3C/g%3E %3C/svg%3E"); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none;" /></div>Zhirinovsky receiving the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Alexander_Nevsky" title="Order of Alexander Nevsky" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Order of Alexander Nevsky</a> from Vladimir Putin in 2015</div></div></div>Besides expressing his concern for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_people" title="Turkish people" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Turks</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoples_of_the_Caucasus" title="Peoples of the Caucasus" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Caucasians</a> displacing the Russian population from their native territory,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-big_bad-23" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[23]</a> Zhirinovsky also advocated for all <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_people_in_Russia" class="mw-redirect" title="Chinese people in Russia" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Chinese</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_people_in_Russia" title="Japanese people in Russia" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Japanese</a>to be deported from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Far_East" title="Russian Far East" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Russian Far East</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-24" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[24]</a> During his 1992 visit to the United States, Zhirinovsky called on television "for the preservation of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_people" title="White people" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">white race</a>" and warned that the white Americans were in danger of turning their country over to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_people" title="Black people" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">black</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic" title="Hispanic" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Hispanic</a> people.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-joke-25" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[25]</a>In 2004, Zhirinovsky spoke at the City Court of Saint Petersburg, in reference to the assassination of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galina_Starovoytova" title="Galina Starovoytova" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Galina Starovoytova</a>. After accusing Starovoytova of having worked for foreign intelligence, he said "I have always said openly that for democrats of pro-Western orientation there are only three roads: prison, the grave, and emigration."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-26" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[26]</a>In August 2016, Zhirinovsky prayed for the Republican <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,2016" title="United States presidential election, 2016" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">presidential election</a> nominee, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Donald Trump</a>, whose antics were similar to Zhirinovsky's but different in backgrounds, to defeat <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton" title="Hillary Clinton" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Hillary Clinton</a>, whom he considered dangerous, in order to take his party's ideology global. He also expressed his desire to test his DNA to determine whether he and Trump were related.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-27" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[27]</a> In April 2017, Zhirinovsky promised to drink the champagne for Donald Trump's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_in_the_United_States" title="Impeachment in the United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">impeachment</a>, saying: "A half of Americans voted for different foreign policies. Trump breaks his promises, and if he continues breaking them, his impeachment is inevitable."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-28" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[28]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">The Last Break Southward[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vladimir_Zhirinovsky&action=edit&section=4&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: The Last Break Southward" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>The Last Break Southward (1995) is the magnum opus of Zhirinovsky in which he expressed his worldview. "Since the 1980s, I have elaborated a geopolitical conception—the last break southward, Russia's reach to the shores of the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean." This is "really the solution for the salvation of the Russian nation … It solves all problems and we gain tranquility."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-29" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[29]</a> Russia will rule the space "from Kabul to Istanbul."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-30" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[30]</a> The United States would feel safer with the Russian rule in the region, since wars there would cease under the Russian rule. Perhaps, some people in Kabul, Teheran, or Ankara would not like it but many people would feel better. "The Persians and Turks would suffer a bit but all the rest would gain."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-31" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[31]</a> The "bells of the Orthodox Church must bell from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean." And Jerusalem becomes close. It is necessary that "the Christian world reunifies in Jerusalem." The Palestinian problem can be solved by partial transfer of the Palestinian population to the former territories of Turkey and Iran.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-32" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[32]</a> The great Russian language and Russian ruble would wield Near Eastern and Central Asian peoples into one Russian citizenship.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-33" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[33]</a>Along the Russia southern sphere from India to Bosporus, other spheres of influence will stretch from north to south in the forthcoming world order, Latin America would be in the American sphere, Africa in the European sphere.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-34" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[34]</a> and Japan and China will rule Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Australia. Everywhere "the direction is the same—north-south."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-35" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[35]</a> Geopolitically, it is logical. "Hence, the distribution along such a geopolitical formula would be very beneficent for the whole of humanity, and all over the planet would be established warm and clear political climate."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-36" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[36]</a>"On this occasion, we need a man with at least planetary thinking," who would realize "the geopolitical formula, guaranteeing the interests of the majority on the planet … This is the fate of Russia. It is destination, fate … We must do it, for we have no choice … This is geopolitics."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-37" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[37]</a> We would do it, assured Zhirinovsky alluding to himself, by the efforts of an "honest, perseverant, patriotically inspired President."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-38" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[38]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Foreign relations and military excursions</h3><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 222px;">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%D0%90%D0%90%D0%9C%D0%9C%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%A0%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8F%D0%A1%D0%B0%D1%84%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0..jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 viewBox=%220 0 11 15%22 width=%2215%22 height=%2211%22%3E %3Cg id=%22magnify-clip%22 fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%23000%22%3E %3Cpath id=%22bigbox%22 d=%22M1.509 1.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22/%3E %3Cpath id=%22smallbox%22 d=%22M-1.499 6.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22/%3E %3C/g%3E %3C/svg%3E"); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none;" /></div>Protests against the extradition and pardon of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramil_Safarov" title="Ramil Safarov" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ramil Safarov</a>, Azerbaijani military officer, who murdered Armenian officer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurgen_Margaryan" title="Gurgen Margaryan" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gurgen Margaryan</a>during a NATO Partnership for Peace program, 30 December 2012</div></div></div><div class="thumb tleft" style="float: left; clear: left; margin: 0.5em 1.4em 1.3em 0px; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 222px;">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vladimir_Zhirinovsky_in_the_State_Duma(2018-01-10).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 viewBox=%220 0 11 15%22 width=%2215%22 height=%2211%22%3E %3Cg id=%22magnify-clip%22 fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%23000%22%3E %3Cpath id=%22bigbox%22 d=%22M1.509 1.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22/%3E %3Cpath id=%22smallbox%22 d=%22M-1.499 6.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22/%3E %3C/g%3E %3C/svg%3E"); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none;" /></div>Zhirinovsky speaking in front of the State Duma</div></div></div>Zhirinovsky is well known for his boasts pertaining to other countries, having expressed a desire to reunite countries of the ex-Soviet "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_abroad" title="Near abroad" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">near abroad</a>" with Russia to within the Russia's borders of 1900 (including Finland and Poland). He has advocated forcibly retaking <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska" title="Alaska" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Alaska</a> from the United States (which would then become "a great place to put the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainians" title="Ukrainians" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Ukrainians</a>"), turning Kazakhstan into "Russia's back yard", and provoking wars between the clans and the nations of the former Soviet Union and occupying what will remain of it when the wars are over.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-threats-39" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[39]</a> Zhirinovsky, who encourages <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separatism" title="Separatism" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">separatism</a> within the Russian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minority_group" title="Minority group" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">minority</a> in the Baltic countries,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-nuclear-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a> endorsed the forcible re-occupation of these countries and said <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_waste" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuclear waste" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">nuclear waste</a> should be dumped there.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-threats-39" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[39]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-40" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[40]</a>Zhirinovsky supports Israel-Russia relations, but says that Israel has to make Russian its official language. He also believes that Israel has to pay more attention to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Orthodox_Church" title="Russian Orthodox Church" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Russian Orthodox Church</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-41" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[41]</a> He believes that Russians are endangered in Israel and should come under the protection of the Russian police.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-42" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[42]</a>In 1999, at the start of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Chechen_War" title="Second Chechen War" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Second Chechen War</a>, Zhirinovsky, an ardent supporter of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Chechen_War" title="First Chechen War" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">the first war in Chechnya</a> in the mid-1990s, advocated hitting some <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chechnya" title="Chechnya" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Chechen</a> villages with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactical_nuclear_weapon" title="Tactical nuclear weapon" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">tactical nuclear weapons</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-43" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[43]</a> He has also advocated using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapons" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuclear weapons" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">nuclear weapons</a> and naval <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockade" title="Blockade" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">blockade</a>-imposed starvation in the event of a Russian war against Japan.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-threats-39" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[39]</a> In 2008, during the resulting political row between the United Kingdom and Russia, he suggested dropping nuclear bombs over the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to flood Britain.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-nuclear-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a>Zhirinovsky hailed what he described as "the democratic process" in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_under_Saddam_Hussein" class="mw-redirect" title="Iraq under Saddam Hussein" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Iraq under Saddam Hussein</a>, whom he supported strongly. The friendship dated from at least the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War" title="Gulf War" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Persian Gulf War</a> in 1991, during which time Zhirinovsky sent several armed volunteers from the "Falcons of Zhirinovsky" group to support the Iraqi president. Allegations have dogged Zhirinovsky closely since <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Baghdad" class="mw-redirect" title="2003 invasion of Baghdad" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">the fall of Baghdad</a> that he personally profited from illicit oil sales as part of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil-for-Food_Programme" title="Oil-for-Food Programme" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Oil-for Food scandal</a>, a charge investigated in 2005 by the Independent Inquiry Committee into the Oil-for-Food Programme (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Volcker" title="Paul Volcker" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Volcker</a> Commission) and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Homeland_Security_and_Governmental_Affairs_Permanent_Subcommittee_on_Investigations" class="mw-redirect" title="United States Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations</a> (PSI).<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-44" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[44]</a> He is also close to the Serbian nationalist leader and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_crime" title="War crime" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">war crimes</a> suspect <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vojislav%C5%A0e%C5%A1elj" title="Vojislav Šešelj" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Vojislav Šešelj</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-threats-39" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[39]</a>Zhirinovsky said he is dreaming of the day "when Russian soldiers can wash their boots in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and switch to year-round summer uniforms"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-boots-45" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[45]</a> following Russia's conquest of Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey and occupation of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Gulf" title="Persian Gulf" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Persian Gulf</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean" class="mw-redirect" title="Mediterranean" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mediterranean</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-big_bad-23" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[23]</a> He also declared that Bulgaria should <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annexation" title="Annexation" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">annex</a> the Republic of Macedonia, and said that Romania is an artificial state supposedly created by Italian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people" title="Romani people" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gypsies</a> who seized territory from Russia, Bulgaria and Hungary.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-hello-46" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[46]</a>Russia's southern neighbor Georgia has been another frequent target of Zhirinovsky's rhetoric. After <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aslan_Abashidze" title="Aslan Abashidze" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Aslan Abashidze</a> was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Adjara_crisis" title="2004 Adjara crisis" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">ousted from power in 2004</a> as leader of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjara" title="Adjara" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ajara</a>, an autonomous Georgian region, Zhirinovsky worried that similar revolutions would occur in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-47" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[47]</a> Highly critical of Georgia's pro-Western line,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-48" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[48]</a> he is an energetic supporter of Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia; in a high-profile incident in August 2004, he departed on a campaign to promote a tourist season in Abkhazia aboard a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruise_ship" title="Cruise ship" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">cruise ship</a> which was briefly intercepted by a Georgian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coast_guard" title="Coast guard" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">coast guard</a> vessel.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-49" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[49]</a> After <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_South_Ossetia_war" class="mw-redirect" title="2008 South Ossetia war" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">war broke out between Russia and Georgia in 2008</a>, Zhirinovsky argued in favor of Russian recognition of Abkhazian and South Ossetian independence. "We should have taken the whole territory of Georgia under control," he complained, and "arrested all Georgian officers and taken them here, like to Guantanamo, arrested <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikheil_Saakashvili" title="Mikheil Saakashvili" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Saakashvili</a> and handed him over for trial by a military tribunal and gone to the border with Turkey."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-50" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[50]</a> In 2009, he called the decision to hold <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO" title="NATO" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">NATO</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative_09" title="Cooperative 09" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">military exercises in Georgia</a> during <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Day(9_May)" title="Victory Day (9 May)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Soviet Victory Day</a> celebrations in Moscow a "total revision of the history of the Great Patriotic War" and suggested that Russia should respond by conducting large-scale joint military drills with Cuba and Venezuela in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_Sea" title="Caribbean Sea" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Caribbean Sea</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-51" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[51]</a><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(200, 204, 209); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 222px;">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2008-07-18%D0%92%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%9F%D1%83%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD,%D0%92%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%96%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9.jpeg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 viewBox=%220 0 11 15%22 width=%2215%22 height=%2211%22%3E %3Cg id=%22magnify-clip%22 fill=%22%23fff%22 stroke=%22%23000%22%3E %3Cpath id=%22bigbox%22 d=%22M1.509 1.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22/%3E %3Cpath id=%22smallbox%22 d=%22M-1.499 6.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22/%3E %3C/g%3E %3C/svg%3E"); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none;" /></div>Zhirinovsky with Putin in 2008</div></div></div>Zhirinovsky has been expelled from Bulgaria for insulting its president and was barred from entry to Germany.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-eccentric-52" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[52]</a> In 2005, Kazakhstan declared Zhirinovsky <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona_non_grata" title="Persona non grata" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">persona non grata</a> on the territory of his historical homeland, due to the politician's controversial speech about the change of the Russia-Kazakhstan border, in which he questioned the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhs" title="Kazakhs" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kazakhs</a>' place in history.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-53" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[53]</a>In 2006, Zhirinovsky became persona non grata also in Ukraine, following his statements regarding the January 2006 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia%E2%80%93Ukraine_gas_dispute" class="mw-redirect" title="Russia–Ukraine gas dispute" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Russia–Ukraine gas dispute</a> (this ban was revoked in 2007). In reaction to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice" title="Condoleezza Rice" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Condoleezza Rice</a>'s criticism of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Russia" title="Foreign relations of Russia" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Russian foreign policy</a> during the dispute, Zhirinovsky stated, "Condoleezza Rice needs a company of soldiers [and] needs to be taken to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barracks" title="Barracks" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">barracks</a> where she would be satisfied."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-54" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[54]</a> At the premiere of the film <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taras_Bulba(2009_film)" title="Taras Bulba (2009 film)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Taras Bulba</a> in 2009 he stated: "Everyone who sees the film will understand that Russians and Ukrainians are one people – and that the enemy is from the West".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-55" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[55]</a> In February 2010 Zhirinovsky claimed that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Ukraine" title="Eastern Ukraine" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Eastern Ukraine</a> would become part of Russia "in five years" claiming that "the population is largely Russian" and called President-elect of Ukraine <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Yanukovych" title="Viktor Yanukovych" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Viktor Yanukovych</a> "basically Russian" (Yanukovych's father was an ethnic Polish-Belarusian, and his mother Russian).On the November 2006 death by poisoning of Russian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defection" title="Defection" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">defector</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Litvinenko" title="Alexander Litvinenko" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Alexander Litvinenko</a> in London, Zhirinovsky said: "Any traitor must be eliminated using any methods. If you have joined the special services to work, then you should work, but to betray, to run away abroad, to give up the secrets you learned while working – all of this looks bad."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-www.ebru.tv-56" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[56]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-57" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[57]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Abeltsev" class="mw-redirect" title="Sergei Abeltsev" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Sergei Abeltsev</a>, Zhirinovsky's former <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodyguard" title="Bodyguard" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">bodyguard</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Duma" title="State Duma" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">State Duma</a> member from the LDPR, added: "The deserved punishment reached the traitor. I am sure his terrible death will be a warning to all the traitors that in Russia the treason is not to be forgiven. I would recommend to citizen <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Berezovsky(businessman)" title="Boris Berezovsky (businessman)" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Berezovsky</a> to avoid any food at the commemoration for his crime accomplice Litvinenko."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-Abeltsev-58" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[58]</a> In the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_legislative_election,2007" title="Russian legislative election, 2007" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">2007 election</a>, political patronage from Zhirinovsky enabled Litvinenko murder suspect <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Lugovoi" class="mw-redirect" title="Andrei Lugovoi" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Andrei Lugovoi</a> to win election to the Russian parliament and thus obtain formal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentary_immunity" title="Parliamentary immunity" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">parliamentary immunity</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-clown-59" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[59]</a> He also accused Great Britain (according to him, "the most barbaric country on the planet") of fomenting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">World War I</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Revolution" title="October Revolution" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">October Revolution</a>, World War II, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Dissolution of the Soviet Union" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">dissolution of the Soviet Union</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-60" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[60]</a>Writing about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Le_Pen" title="Marine Le Pen" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Marine Le Pen</a> he said that she could outdo her father because "Instead of saying that Islam is terrorism, she simply insists that France is a secular nation that will not stand for hundreds of thousands of Muslims practicing their religious traditions. With this argument, Marine has cleverly defended the French people's right to a secular nation." In that vein he said that she has the "chance to represent the French majority."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-61" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[61]</a>In 2013, when asked about former Ukrainian prime minister <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yulia_Tymoshenko" title="Yulia Tymoshenko" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Yulia Tymoshenko</a>, he said, "Yulia Tymoshenko, I'm sorry, is a woman. I don't like them, as it's easier to persuade a woman. [...] Women are more compliant, and it's dangerous."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-62" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[62]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Controversies[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vladimir_Zhirinovsky&action=edit&section=6&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Controversies" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Violent controversies[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vladimir_Zhirinovsky&action=edit&section=7&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Violent controversies" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>Zhirinovsky also has a history of igniting personal violence in political contexts. In his notorious debate with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Nemtsov" title="Boris Nemtsov" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Boris Nemtsov</a> in 1995 a "juice fight" broke out.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-63" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[63]</a> In 2003, Zhirinovsky engaged in a fistfight after a television debate with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Delyagin" title="Mikhail Delyagin" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Mikhail Delyagin</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-64" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[64]</a> In 2005, Zhirinovsky ignited a brawl in the parliament by spitting at a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodina(political_party)" title="Rodina (political party)" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Rodina</a> party legislator, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Saveliyev" class="mw-redirect" title="Andrei Saveliyev" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Andrei Saveliyev</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-65" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[65]</a> In 2008, he showed himself shooting a rifle at the targets representing his political rivals.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-nuclear-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[16]</a> During the 2008 televised presidential debate, he threatened Nikolai Gotsa, the representative of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_of_Russia" title="Democratic Party of Russia" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Democratic Party of Russia</a> candidate <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Vladimirovich_Bogdanov" title="Andrei Vladimirovich Bogdanov" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Andrei Bogdanov</a> with violence, saying he's going to "smash his head" and ordering his bodyguard to "shoot that bastard over there in the corridor". Gotsa sued Zhirinovsky in civil court for 1 million rubles (approximately US$38,000) in damages and eventually received a judgment of 30,000 rubles (approximately US$1,150).<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-66" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[66]</a> In April 2014, Zhirinovsky made strong verbal threats against a pregnant journalist during a press conference in the Duma, including ordering his aide to rape the journalist, who had asked Zhirinovsky about possible sanctions against Ukraine amidst the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Russian_military_intervention_in_Ukraine" class="mw-redirect" title="2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">military tensions</a> between the two countries. The ethics committee of the Duma will investigate the incident.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-67" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[67]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Donkey video for 2012 presidential election[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vladimir_Zhirinovsky&action=edit&section=8&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Donkey video for 2012 presidential election" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable" style="font-style: italic; padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Main article: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky%27s_donkey_video" title="Vladimir Zhirinovsky's donkey video" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Vladimir Zhirinovsky's donkey video</a></div>On 6 February 2012, Zhirinovsky released a 30-second election video on the Internet that featured him on a sleigh which was harnessed with a black donkey, which represents the country. The video was widely discussed on the Internet,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-RIAN-20120207-68" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[68]</a> and received mostly negative reactions from Russian users.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-profi-forex-69" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[69]</a> International organizations <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_for_the_Ethical_Treatment_of_Animals" title="People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals</a> (PETA) and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Society_for_the_Protection_of_Animals" class="mw-redirect" title="World Society for the Protection of Animals" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">World Society for the Protection of Animals</a> (Now known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Animal_Protection" title="World Animal Protection" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">World Animal Protection</a>), as well as Russian animal rights activists, have accused Zhirinovsky of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruelty_to_animals" title="Cruelty to animals" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">cruelty to animals</a>. Zhirinovsky responded to criticism, saying that similar treatment is commonplace in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_world" title="Arab world" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Arab world</a> and that in fact the animal been treated "better than many people".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-nr2-20120208-70" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[70]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Other controversies[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vladimir_Zhirinovsky&action=edit&section=9&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Other controversies" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>He proposed setting up large fans on the borders to blow airborne radioactive waste into the Baltic states.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-71" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[71]</a>To eradicate <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenzavirus_A" class="mw-redirect" title="Influenzavirus A" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">bird flu</a>, he proposed arming all of Russia's population and ordering them and the troops to shoot down the migrant birds returning to Russia from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wintering" class="mw-redirect" title="Wintering" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">wintering</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-72" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[72]</a>He also threatened to remove restrictions on arms sales to Iran and proposed to sell the disputed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuril_Islands" title="Kuril Islands" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Kuril Islands</a> to Japan for 50 billion USD.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-eccentric-52" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[52]</a>In a 2003 video,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-73" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[73]</a> drunk Zhirinovsky threatened <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W.Bush" title="George W. Bush" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">George W. Bush</a> in offensive language. He called the United States a "second-hand goods store" filled with "cocksuckers, handjobbers, and faggots", and claimed that Russian scientists are able to change the gravitational field of the Earth and sink the entire country.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-vice2013-74" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[74]</a> In the video <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton" title="Bill Clinton" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bill Clinton</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Lewinsky" title="Monica Lewinsky" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Monica Lewinsky</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice" title="Condoleezza Rice" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Condoleezza Rice</a> are also mentioned. Zhirinovsky calls <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice" title="Condoleezza Rice" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Condoleezza Rice</a>: "a black whore who needs a good cock. Send her here, one of our divisions will make her happy in the barracks one night. She will choke on Russian sperm as it will be leaking out of her ears ... until she crawls to the US embassy in Moscow on her knees."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-vice2013-74" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[74]</a>In the wake of the February 2013 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelyabinsk_meteor" title="Chelyabinsk meteor" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Chelyabinsk meteor</a>, Zhirinovsky was quoted by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_International_News_Agency" class="mw-redirect" title="Russian International News Agency" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Russian International News Agency</a> as claiming "It's not meteors falling, it's the test of a new weapon by the Americans."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-75" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[75]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-76" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[76]</a> At the same time, he derided the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Academy_of_Sciences" title="Russian Academy of Sciences" style="background: none; text-decoration-line: none;">Russian Academy of Sciences</a> for anarchism, having scientists that are so old that their brains and reproductive organs don't work any longer, and told the "elders" to go home and collect their pensions.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-77" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[77]</a>On 4 April 2014, in the wake of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Crimean_crisis" class="mw-redirect" title="2014 Crimean crisis" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2014 Crimean crisis</a>, the franchises of the fast-food restaurant <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s" title="McDonald's" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">McDonald's</a> were unable to continue because they had been cut off by their Ukrainian franchisor. Zhirinovsky suggested that McDonald's "should be evicted from Russia" for the affront.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-78" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[78]</a>At a press conference in April, when asked whether Russians should reciprocate the Ukrainian sex strike,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-79" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[79]</a> he replied that all Ukrainian women were "nymphomaniacs" like the journalist who had asked the question, Stella Dubovitskaya.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-huffingtonpost.co.uk-80" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[80]</a> He then ordered two of his aides to "violently rape" the pregnant journalist for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rossiya_Segodnya" title="Rossiya Segodnya" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Rossiya Segodnya</a>, who had to be briefly hospitalised for shock.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-81" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[81]</a> He later apologised with "I spoke a bit rudely when I replied to a young woman".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-huffingtonpost.co.uk-80" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[80]</a>On 25 July 2014, amidst <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_insurgency_in_Donbass" class="mw-redirect" title="2014 insurgency in Donbass" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">an armed insurgency in Eastern Ukraine</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-Ukraine_crisis_timeline_BBC-82" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[82]</a> the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_Interior_Ministry" class="mw-redirect" title="Ukrainian Interior Ministry" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Ukrainian Interior Ministry</a> launched criminal proceedings against Zhirinovsky and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_the_Russian_Federation" title="Communist Party of the Russian Federation" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Communist Party of the Russian Federation</a> leader <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gennady_Zyuganov" title="Gennady Zyuganov" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Gennady Zyuganov</a> for "financing actions aimed at changing the boundaries of the territory and the state border of Ukraine".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-83" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[83]</a>On 10 August 2014, Zhirinovsky threatened Poland and the Baltic states with carpet bombing, dooming and wiping out all of them.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-84" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[84]</a><blockquote style="overflow: hidden; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 40px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">What will remain of the Baltics? Nothing will remain of them. NATO airplanes are stationed there. There's an anti-missile defense system. In Poland – the Baltics – they are on the whole doomed. They'll be wiped out.There will be nothing left. Let them re-think this, these leaders of these little dwarf states. How they are leaving themselves vulnerable.Nothing threatens America, it's far away. But Eastern Europe countries will place themselves under the threat of total annihilation. Only they themselves will be to blame. Because we cannot allow missiles and planes to be aimed at Russia from their territories. We have to destroy them half an hour before they launch. And then we have to do carpet bombing so that not a single launch pad remains or even one plane. So – no Baltics, no Poland. Let NATO immediately ask for negotiations with our Foreign Ministry. Then we'll stop. Otherwise well have to teach them the lessons of May 1945.</blockquote>On 23 August 2014, he voiced the opinion that Russia ought to abolish political parties in favour of an autocratic system in which the leader would be chosen by the "five to six thousand wisest people" in the country. He also proposed returning to the Imperial flag and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Save_the_Tsar!" title="God Save the Tsar!" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">anthem</a>. Putin rejected this proposal.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-85" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[85]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-86" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[86]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-87" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[87]</a>In the same year, he threatened Washington with a Russian attack while giving a speech to listeners.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-The_Daily_Beast-88" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[88]</a>In February 2015, he suggested to "burn all Paris" and "sturm Berlin" during a speech at the Duma.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-89" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[89]</a>In May 2015 he stated that former President of Georgia, and then governor of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odessa" title="Odessa" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Odessa</a>, Ukraine, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikheil_Saakashvili" title="Mikheil Saakashvili" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Mikheil Saakashvili</a>, should be killed. "We will shoot all of your governors, starting with Saakashvili, then they'll be afraid. And there will be a different situation in Europe and Ukraine. ... Let's aim at Berlin, Brussels, London, and Washington." He then said Ukrainian political prisoner <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadiya_Savchenko" title="Nadiya Savchenko" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Nadiya Savchenko</a> should be shot and hanged in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgrade" title="Belgrade" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Belgrade</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-90" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[90]</a>In November 2015, after the incident of a Russian jet plane being shot down by a Turkish F-16 after an air-space violation, he stated in a speech to the Duma that Russia must detonate a nuclear bomb on the Bosphorus to create a 10 meters high tsunami wave that would wipe out at least 9 million Istanbul residents.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-91" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[91]</a>In September 2016, inspired by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Donald Trump</a>'s signature proposal, he proposed building a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_wall" class="mw-redirect" title="Border wall" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">border wall</a> and banning Muslims from entering Russia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-The_Daily_Beast-88" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[88]</a>In 12 October 2016, Zhirinovsky warned on Reuters that a vote for Hillary Clinton in the US presidential election is a vote for the eruption of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_III" title="World War III" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">a third World War</a>, leading to Hiroshimas and Nagasakis everywhere. He also noted that, on the contrary, Trump wouldn't care about US interventions in Syria, Libya, Iraq and Ukraine, and thus offering peace.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky#cite_note-Reuters_Oct12-92" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[92]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Political positions[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vladimir_Zhirinovsky&action=edit&section=10&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Political positions" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable" style="font-style: italic; padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Main article: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky" title="Political positions of Vladimir Zhirinovsky" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Political positions of Vladimir Zhirinovsky</a></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Electoral history[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vladimir_Zhirinovsky&action=edit&section=11&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Electoral history" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable" style="font-style: italic; padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Main article: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_history_of_Vladimir_Zhirinovsky" title="Electoral history of Vladimir Zhirinovsky" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Electoral history of Vladimir Zhirinovsky</a></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">See also[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vladimir_Zhirinovsky&action=edit&section=12&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: See also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22 width=%225%22 height=%2213%22%3E %3Ccircle cx=%222.5%22 cy=%229.5%22 r=%222.5%22 fill=%22%2300528c%22/%3E %3C/svg%3E"); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Dugin" title="Aleksandr Dugin" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Aleksandr Dugin</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_nationalism" title="Russian nationalism" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Russian nationalism</a></li></ul><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">References</h2></div><div>
</div><div>=</div><div><div id="r1-0" class="result results_links_deep highlight_d highlight" data-domain="en.wikipedia.org" data-hostname="en.wikipedia.org" data-nir="1" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.2em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; position: relative; word-wrap: break-word; border-radius: 2px; cursor: pointer; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);"><div class="resultbody links_main links_deep" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 10px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><h2 class="resulttitle" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.15em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: normal; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: middle; position: static; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%;"><a class="resulta" rel="noopener" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhirinovsky" style="margin: 0px 0px -0.05em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.22; vertical-align: middle; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;">Vladimir Zhirinovsky - Wikipedia</a></h2><div class="resultsnippet" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.2em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.45; vertical-align: baseline;">Zhirinovsky and Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in 2000. For his own part, Zhirinovsky has done a great deal to foster a reputation as a loud and boisterous populist ...</div><div class="resultextras" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative;"><div class="resultextrasurl" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 4em 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; float: left; position: relative; box-sizing: border-box; width: auto; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; max-width: 70%; text-overflow: ellipsis;"><span class="resulticon" style="margin: -3px 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: middle; overflow: hidden; display: inline-block; width: 16px;"><a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ultra%2Dnationalist%20Vladimir%20Zhirinovsky%20putin+site:en.wikipedia.org&t=h&atb=v31-5" title="Search domain en.wikipedia.org" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;"><img height="16" width="16" title="Search domain en.wikipedia.org" class="resulticonimg js-lazyload-icons" data-src="/assets/icons/favicons/wikipedia.png" src="https://duckduckgo.com/assets/icons/favicons/wikipedia.png" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: middle; max-width: 16px;" /></a><a class="resulturl" rel="noopener" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhirinovsky" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="resulturldomain" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; 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padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><div id="r1-1" class="result results_links_deep highlight_d" data-domain="aljazeera.com" data-hostname="www.aljazeera.com" data-nir="1" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.2em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; position: relative; word-wrap: break-word; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="resultbody links_main links_deep" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 10px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><h2 class="resulttitle" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.15em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: normal; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: middle; position: static; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%;"><a class="resulta" rel="noopener" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/russian-elections-running-vladimir-putin-180315094917040.html" style="margin: 0px 0px -0.05em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.22; vertical-align: middle; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;">Russian elections: Who is running against Vladimir Putin ...</a></h2><div class="resultsnippet" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.2em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.45; vertical-align: baseline;">Vladimir Zhirinovsky (nee Eidelstein) is leader of the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. He is the absolute veteran among this year's candidates, having run in more elections than Vladimir Putin himself.</div><div class="resultextras" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative;"><div class="resultextrasurl" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 4em 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; float: left; position: relative; box-sizing: border-box; width: auto; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; text-overflow: ellipsis;"><span class="resulticon" style="margin: -3px 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: middle; overflow: hidden; display: inline-block; width: 16px;"><a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ultra%2Dnationalist%20Vladimir%20Zhirinovsky%20putin+site:www.aljazeera.com&t=h&atb=v31-5" title="Search domain www.aljazeera.com" style="margin: 0px; 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text-overflow: ellipsis;">Russian Ultra-Nationalist Says Vote Trump Or Risk Nuclear War ...</a></h2><div class="resultsnippet" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.2em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.45; vertical-align: baseline;">Putin ally Vladimir Zhirinovsky likes to rile people up with his controversial rhetoric.</div><div class="resultextras" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative;"><div class="resultextrasurl" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 4em 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; float: left; position: relative; box-sizing: border-box; width: auto; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; text-overflow: ellipsis;"><span class="resulticon" style="margin: -3px 0.5em 0px 0px; 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padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.22; vertical-align: middle; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;">Putin set to win re-election with 69 percent of vote: final poll</a></h2><div class="resultsnippet" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.2em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.45; vertical-align: baseline;">Vladimir Putin will return to the Kremlin with 69 percent of the vote, ... Ultra-nationalist VladimirZhirinovsky is projected to garner around five ...</div><div class="resultextras" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative;"><div class="resultextrasurl" style="margin: 0px; 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line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: middle; position: static; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%;"><a class="resulta" rel="noopener" href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/russians-see-little-hope-change-crave-putins-next-030423516.html" style="margin: 0px 0px -0.05em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.22; vertical-align: middle; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;">Russians see little hope of change they crave in Putin's next ...</a></h2><div class="resultsnippet" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.2em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.45; vertical-align: baseline;">Russian President Vladimir Putin, ... ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky and millionaire communist Pavel Grudinin. ...</div><div class="resultextras" style="margin: 0px; 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background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="resultbody links_main links_deep" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 10px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><h2 class="resulttitle" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.15em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: normal; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: middle; position: static; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%;"><a class="resulta" rel="noopener" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/09/russia-ultra-nationalist-crackdown-150916131749975.html" style="margin: 0px 0px -0.05em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.22; vertical-align: middle; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;">Behind Russia's ultra-nationalist crackdown | Russia | Al Jazeera</a></h2><div class="resultsnippet" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.2em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.45; vertical-align: baseline;">Behind Russia's ultra-nationalist ... President Vladimir Putin's government has also sought to ... The most outspoken nationalist is Vladimir Zhirinovsky, ...</div><div class="resultextras" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative;"><div class="resultextrasurl" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 4em 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; float: left; position: relative; box-sizing: border-box; width: auto; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; text-overflow: ellipsis;"><span class="resulticon" style="margin: -3px 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: middle; overflow: hidden; display: inline-block; width: 16px;"><a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ultra%2Dnationalist%20Vladimir%20Zhirinovsky%20putin+site:www.aljazeera.com&t=h_&atb=v31-5" title="Search domain www.aljazeera.com" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;"><img height="16" width="16" title="Search domain www.aljazeera.com" class="resulticonimg js-lazyload-icons" data-src="//icons.duckduckgo.com/ip3/www.aljazeera.com.ico" src="https://icons.duckduckgo.com/ip3/www.aljazeera.com.ico" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: none; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: middle; max-width: 16px;" /></a><a class="resulturl" rel="noopener" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/09/russia-ultra-nationalist-crackdown-150916131749975.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="resulturldomain" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline;">https://www.aljazeera.com<span class="resulturlfull" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; opacity: 1; visibility: visible;">/indepth/features/2015/09/russia-ultra-nat...</a></div></div></div></div><div id="r1-6" class="result results_links_deep highlight_d" data-domain="theguardian.com" data-hostname="www.theguardian.com" data-nir="1" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.2em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; position: relative; word-wrap: break-word; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="resultbody links_main links_deep" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 10px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><h2 class="resulttitle" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.15em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: normal; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: middle; position: static; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%;"><a class="resulta" rel="noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/08/vladimir-putin-russian-election-iran-zimbabwe" style="margin: 0px 0px -0.05em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.22; vertical-align: middle; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis;">As Vladimir Putin steals the Russian election, our leaders ...</a></h2><div class="resultsnippet" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.2em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.45; vertical-align: baseline;">As Vladimir Putin steals the Russian election, ... They include Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a sort of ultra-nationalist ... "Vladimir Putin's government has ...</div></div></div></div><div>===</div>