WHAT DOES ZHIRINOVSKIY STAND FOR?

What Zhirinovskiy really believes is hard to say. Many of his statements appear designed to grab attention and make the headlines of the media, but also to appeal to sentiments held by at least some Russians. Michael Dobbs, former Washington Post Moscow bureau chief, has described an argument that took place around the end of 1992 between Zhirinovskiy and a supporter of Boris Yeltsin. When Zhirinovskiy argued for recreating the Soviet empire plus Alaska and Finland, the Yeltsin supporter protested, "But that's plain demagoguery." Zhirinovskiy is said to have smilingly replied, "Sure. That's what politics is all about--demagoguery."1

His statements are contradictory, and he sometimes follows an aggressive statement with a conciliatory one, or vice versa. While one might be inclined to discount some of his statements, such as blowing nuclear radiation into Lithuania, it would be difficult to try to distinguish between what he says to shock or grab attention and what he really believes.

This said, authoritarianism, racism, and Russian nationalism are threads that can be discerned in Zhirinovskiy's statements and writing.

Domestic Politics

Zhirinovskiy calls himself a liberal democrat, and he has in recent months emphasized the electoral process and his willingness to work with those in parliament, with President Yeltsin, and many in the Yeltsin Government, with the notable exceptions of officials he has wanted ousted, such as former First Deputy Prime Minister Gaidar and current Foreign Minister Kozyrev.

Behind this, however, are apparent authoritarian leanings. Zhirinovskiy has advocated strong presidential powers and stated that if he were to become president of Russia in current circumstances he would establish a dictatorship for at least a few years.

He espouses as a slogan "For Russia, for all Russians," and suggests a Russian cultural and political superiority over non-Russian ethnic groups. He has made anti-Semitic statements, while denying he is anti-Semitic. At the same time, he says he advocates equal treatment for all peoples in Russia. The authors of the Rossiyskiye Vesti profile summarized his views on national or ethnic government as follows: "abolition of national-territorial formations and the principles of promotion on ethnic grounds; restoration of the administrative division of Russia into governorates, which was introduced by Peter I and existed until 1924; and deletion of the 'nationality' section from all documents, with everyone retaining equal rights to freedom of movement and the right to elect and be elected, to preserve and develop the national culture, and to decide for oneself on one's allegiance to a given culture (nation)."2 On economic issues, the authors of the profile in Rossiyskiye Vesti state that: ". . . He declares his commitment to the ideas of the convergence of various socioeconomic systems; he does not share the values of either socialism or capitalism. . . ." They also indicate that he supports "Equality of all forms of ownership; an adaptable tax policy; assistance for production; state incentives for the creation of new jobs and restrictions on middlemen . . . " and ". . . maintaining a certain minimum level of unemployment as an incentive to ensure the maximum work capacity, reduce personnel turnover, and counteract strike activities by working people. He is a supporter of lockouts . . . and strikebreaking. . . ."3

Russia and the Near Abroad

Zhirinovskiy, on the one hand, calls for ending Russian assistance to other former republics of the Soviet Union and says he does not want them as part of Russia at least for the near-term. On the other hand, he envisions over time a Russia that includes all the territory of the former Soviet Union, suggesting that the former republics will fall into further trouble and seek to subordinate themselves to Russia for economic and security reasons. Similar to what he envisions for the current Russia, he suggests a new, expanded Russia would have no separate republics based on nationality, and Russians would be essentially primes inter pares, with other nationalities allowed to maintain their cultural but not political identities.

Policy toward Other Nations

Zhirinovskiy has made demagogic statements that appear designed to appeal to some of the baser anti-Semitic, xenophobic, and anti-Western instincts that may reside in portions of the Russian population.

While Zhirinovskiy made a number of saber-rattling, anti-Western, and anti-U.S. statements before the 12 December election, after the election he backed away or softened these in an apparent effort to present himself as someone with whom the West might deal.

Zhirinovskiy says no one needs to fear Russia, but, on one occasion or another, he has threatened to pursue nuclear blackmail against the U.S., U.K., and France, to attack Germany, Japan, and Pakistan with nuclear or other forces, and to blow nuclear radiation into Lithuania. He advocated replacing the president of Bulgaria with one of his advisors.

He opposes receiving foreign aid in Russia and opposes Russia giving aid to other countries, with the exception of Iraq and Serbia. He opposes defense conversion in Russia and strongly advocates sales of Russian arms abroad. He advocates close relations with Germany and has suggested an axis involving Germany, Russia, and India. He is a friend and supporter of Saddam Hussein and Iraq.

In his book Last Dash to the South, Zhirinovskiy proclaims as a geopolitical concept the necessity for Russia to gain access by military conquest to the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean.4 Viewing this "last dash" as the "task of saving the Russian nation," he argues that Russia needs to secure access to these warm water routes to thrive and that it needs to subjugate its southern neighbors in the Caucasus, Central Asia, Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan to eliminate threats posed by pan-Turkism and pan-Islamism. He claims that Ankara is planning "to establish a greater Turkey reaching from the Adriatic to Tajikistan," which would allow Turkey to dominate Slavic populations in the former Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, while placing extreme pressure on Russia via the Caucasus and Central Asia. He argues that Moscow must fight back by leading a pan-Slavic, anti-Turkish alliance, perhaps in partnership with a resurgent Germany. He suggests that a military conquest to the south would be the basis for a renaissance of the Russian military which has fallen on hard times.5

Zhirinovskiy provided his vision of a future world security system in one or more interviews conducted by Rolf Gauffin, a retired French diplomat, published in January 1994 in two similar but not identical newspaper articles.6 Zhirinovskiy projected a trilateral German-Russian-Indian axis, linking an expanded Germany, a new Russia that would include most of the former Soviet Union and some additional territory, and India. With some two billion people linked by this axis, Zhirinovskiy opined that the world would take whatever form this axis wanted it to. India and Russia together would neutralize China, and Germany and Russia would neutralize or control Europe.

In Zhirinovskiy's vision, Russians living outside Russia would be given dual citizenship and Russia would defend them, primarily with economic instruments of power.

Zhirinovskiy was reported in one interview by Gauffin to have said that Russia didn't want the Transcaucasus as there were only criminals there, no real economy, and no opportunities for Russia to profit; he said Iran could take over Azerbaijan and Armenia and Georgia could go to Turkey; but, he also said one day these countries would ask to belong to Moscow again. In another report of a Gauffin interview, Zhirinovskiy said that Russia would step in to save the states in the Transcaucasus and Central Asia, if these states paid Russia to do it.

The Baltic states, according to Zhirinovskiy, would be part of Russia, except for Tallinn which would be a separate city republic and three cities in Lithuania which would form a small Lithuanian state. Koeningsberg might be returned to Germany some day. Zhirinovskiy said "no problem" with respect to Finland, but if Finland wanted Karelia back, then all of Finland would have to go to Russia.

One report had Zhirinovskiy saying that Eastern Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova would be part of Russia; another report had him saying that Ukraine and Belarus are Russian and the people want to belong to Russia.

In Eastern Europe, according to Zhirinovskiy's vision, three cities in northwestern Poland would become part of Germany, and Lvov in Ukraine might be given to Poland as compensation. Slovakia might want to become part of Russia. The Czech Republic would go to Germany. Austria and Slovenia should unite, perhaps along with Germany. Bulgaria would get the Dobrudja portion of Romania. Greece should return Thrace to Bulgaria. In the former Yugoslavia, the Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians would keep the borders that now exist. He proposed that all foreign or UN forces withdraw from the former Yugoslavia so the warring parties could settle the conflict themselves, but he also said that Russia and the Balkan states would solve all problems in the Balkans.