Vladimir Zhirinovsky
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Vladimir Zhirinovsky MP |
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| Vice Chairman of the State Duma | |
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In office 18 January 2000 – 21 December 2011 |
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| President |
Vladimir Putin Dmitry Medvedev Vladimir Putin |
| Prime Minister | Vladimir Putin Mikhail Kasyanov Viktor Khristenko (acting) Mikhail Fradkov Viktor Zubkov Vladimir Putin Viktor Zubkov (acting) Dmitry Medvedev |
| Leader of the LDPR Party | |
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Assumed office 14 December 1989 |
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| Preceded by | party created |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Vladimir Volfovich Eidelstein 25 April 1946 Almaty, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic Party of Russia |
| Spouse(s) | Galina Lebedeva |
| Children | Igor Lebedev |
| Alma mater | Moscow State University |
| Occupation | politician, founder and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), Vice-Chairman of the State Duma |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Russian Orthodox |
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| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Soviet Union, Russian Federation |
| Rank | Colonel |
Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky (Russian: Влади́мир Во́льфович Жирино́вский; né Eidelstein (Russian: Эйдельште́йн) on 25 April 1946) is a Russian politician and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. He is fiercely nationalist and has been described as "a showman of Russian politics, blending populist and nationalist rhetoric, anti-Western invective and a brash, confrontational style". His views have been described as fascist.
Zhirinovsky is a long-time member of the State Duma and held the post of Deputy Chairman of the Duma from 2000 to 2011. According to Reuters, "Although nominally part of the Russian opposition, he is widely seen as a servant of Kremlin policy, used to float radical opinions to test public reaction."
Zhirinovsky was born in Almaty, the capital of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, modern-day Kazakhstan. His father, Volf Isaakovich Eidelshtein (or Wolf Andreyevich Eidelshtein), was a Jew from Poland, and his mother, Alexandra Pavlovna (née Makarova), was of Russian background. His paternal grandfather was a wealthy industrialist from Kostopil, who owned the largest timber factory in (what is now) Ukraine and was head of the Jewish community. His grandfather's factory today has an income of $32 million a year, and over the years Zhirinovsky has demanded successive Ukrainian governments return it to him.
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 Eidelshtein, emigrated to Israel in 1949 (together with his new wife Bella and his brother), where he worked as an agronomist in Tel Aviv. Zhirinovsky's father was a member of the right-wing nationalist Herut party in Israel, and died in 1983 when he was run over by a bus near Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv. Zhirinovsky did not find out the details of his father's life in Israel until many years later, or even that he had died. Zhirinovsky himself is an Orthodox Christian.
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Wikipedia