Tag: Vladimir Zhirinovsky

Not surprisingly, the ruling party, United Russia, has overwhelmingly prevailed with 76% of the State Duma; the Communist Party, Zhirinovsky’s party and Just Russia have far fewer seats. No opposition party has cleared the 5% threshold to enter parliament, but candidates from Rodina and Civic Platform as well as one independent have obtained seats in single-mandate districts.

Staunton, VA, May 16, 2016 – For obvious reasons, polls of Russian attitudes are anything but a good indicator of where Russians are heading; but there is a more reliable bellwether: the way that the Kremlin uses its pocket opposition figures such as Vladimir Zhirinovsky of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) as elections […]

The Daily Vertical is a video primer for Russia-watchers that appears Monday through Friday. Viewers can suggest topics via Twitter @PowerVertical or on the Power Vertical Facebook page. A transcript of today’s Daily Vertical can be found here.

After the infamous “foreign agents” law that has hindered or closed more than 60 non-government organizations, the State Duma has turned its sights on the media and is now drafting a law regulating media companies that are financed from abroad, Welcome to our column, Russia Update, where we will be closely following day-to-day developments in […]

Discussions are underway about dissolving the State Duma in June 2016 to have early elections in September 2016, RBC.ru citing sources close to the Kremlin and in the Duma. Welcome to our column, Russia Update, where we will be closely following day-to-day developments in Russia, including the Russian government’s foreign and domestic policies. The previous […]

Staunton, October 17 – Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the frequently outrageous leader of the wildly misnamed Liberal Democratic Party of Russia who nonetheless often serves as a bellwether of Russian politics, says that Russia should dispense with direct elections for the Russian presidency because “the democratic costume is too tight for Russia.” In remarks to the Second […]

Staunton, October 2 – There are many ways to destroy media freedom, but members of the Russian Duma have come up with a new one that may prove far more insidious than anyone may now imagine: They are calling for legislation that would preclude media outlets from carrying stories about subjects not defined as part […]

Staunton, September 26 – Mikhail Degtyarev, a LDPR Duma deputy, has asked the Russian foreign ministry to clarify the status of land that had belonged to Russia in what is now the US state of California because he believes that Washington did not pay for it as required by a nineteenth century bilateral agreement. As […]

Staunton, September 25 – At a time when Vladimir Putin has made what was earlier unthinkable into reality, it would be a major mistake to ignore a recent statement by Vladimir Zhirinovsky about how Ukraine will be reduced in size or even eliminated altogether in the coming years, according to Andrey Illarionov. In an article […]

Staunton, August 19 – Vladimir Zhirinovsky has become notorious for saying what must not be said and doing what must not be done, but now his approach has spread to the Russian people as a whole, a development that cannot last forever but one that will end badly, according to Aleksey Levinson. In an article […]