Zhirinovsky has been in hospital since early February, according to media reports, due to severe lung symptoms caused by a coronavirus infection.
6.4. 14:24 • Updated 6.4. 14:38
Russian Member of Parliament Vladimir Zhirinovsky is dead. He was 75 years old at the time of his death.
The President of the Russian State Duma reports on the matter Vyacheslav Volodin. According to the Russian news agency Tassi, the president Vladimir Putin expressed condolences on the death of Zhirinovsky.
Zhirinovsky has been in hospital since early February. According to media sources, Zhirinovsky was in a very serious condition due to lung symptoms caused by the coronavirus.
In March, a Russian news agency told (you will switch to another service) wrongly that Zhirinovsky would have died already then. The news was based on an update to the social media of a member of the Russian upper house, which he later removed.
Sharp statements about Finland
In Finland, Žirinovski became known for his colorful statements about Finland. Among other things, he said that he considered Finland’s independence illegal. Still, he emphasized the good distances between Russia and Finland.
Žirinovski described his own style of performance as follows:
– I speak a language that everyone understands and I take examples from everyday life.
On the other hand, he said he was too emotional. The sharp statements gave Zhirinovsky the additional name “Finnish Eater”.
Over the years, Zhirinovsky also threatened several countries with nuclear strikes and demanded the return of Alaska from the United States to Russia.
Six times as presidential candidate
The extremist Zhirinovsky was the founder of the Russian Liberal Democratic Party. The party has been part of the opposition in support of President Vladimir Putin.
For example, the party has supported the occupation of the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine. Zhirinovsky considered Ukraine to belong to Russia.
Zhirinovsky was a six-time candidate in the Russian presidential election.
In the 2018 election, Zhirinovsky rose to the headlines after a live broadcast of another candidate Ksenia Sobchak with. After the exchange of words, Zhirinovsky got a glass of water thrown by Sobchak.
Zhirinovsky’s career began to rise in 1991, when he unexpectedly came third in the presidential election, which Boris Yeltsin won.