Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky (Влади́мир Во́льфович Жирино́вский in Russian) (b. April 25, 1946) is a controversial Russian politician, and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (which has very little in common with what Westerners call liberalism).

He is a long-time KGB operative, of a Jewish father, and speaks fluent Turkish.

He advocates, inter alia, the re-incorporation of the former Soviet republics and Alaska through the use of military force, as well as invading and occupying Iran. He has also praised Adolf Hitler's rule and encouraged the use of nuclear weapons against possible adversaries.

Zhirinovsky allegedly praised the success of American presidential candidate Pat Buchanan during Buchanan's 1992 Presidential bid. Buchanan refused Zhirinovsky's endorsement.

He was born in Almaty, in Kazakhstan, and was called until 1964 by his father's surname, 'Eidelstein' (Эйдельште́йн). He then studied languages, specifically, Turkish at Moscow University. He drifted into law during the 1980s, and in 1990 co-founded the Liberal Democratic Party, which claimed to be the first oppositon party of the Soviet Union. He got 8% of the vote in 1990 presidential elections.

After a successful parliamentary election that saw his party come in 3rd place, Zhirinovsky announced that he would challenge Vladimir Putin in the 2004 presidential election. He later withdrew from the race.

External links

• Vladimir Zhirinovsky Bio
• Liberal Democratic Party of Russia Website (in Russian)