Zhuravlyov was born 30 June 1962 in
Voronezh in
Soviet Union. In 1984 he graduated from
Voronezh Polytechnic Institute majoring in "Physics of Metals". In 2004 he graduated from the
Russian Academy of Public Administration under the
President of the Russian Federation. In 2001-2004 Zhuravlyov was an authorized representative of the Governor of the Voronezh Oblast
Vladimir Kulakov in the
Oblast Duma. On 29 September 2012, at the founding convention of the party
Rodina Zhuravlev was elected as its chairman, while retaining his membership in the faction Rodina in the State Duma. Delimkhanov allegedly instigated the beating in Zhuravlyov's 15th floor Duma office after becoming irate over a letter written by Zhuravlev to Prosecutor General
Yury Chaika requesting an investigation into a monument erected to female heroes of the
18th century Caucasian War in the Chechen village of Khangish-Yurt. The fight ended when staffers intervened and Delimkhanov brandished a gold plated pistol. In the
2016 parliamentary election, he headed the party list of the
Rodina, and ran through
Anna Constituency. The party list of the
Rodina did not overcome the 5% electoral threshold, however, won in his constituency. In the State Duma of the
7th convocation did not join any of the factions. In 2020, he got taken in by a prank about a brothel for zoophiles. This was subsequently debunked by Russian commentator
Rustem Agdamov, leaving Zhuravlyov with significant egg on his face. In 2021, Zhuravlyov made negative comments about the participation of
transgender athlete
Laurel Hubbard in the
2020 Summer Olympics as a competitor in the
Women's +87 kg Weightlifting section, condemning Hubbard's involvement in the competition as "smut and perversion." His comments were flatly condemned by news outlets from around the world, as well as the
International Olympic Committee. On 15 December 2021, Zhuravlyov appeared on the Russian television program
60 Minutes, advocating for the
kidnapping and imprisonment of United States Congressman
Ruben Gallego for his comments in support of providing arms and military training to Ukraine in the
Russo-Ukrainian War. Gallego responded on Twitter with the message "fuck around and find out". In January 2022, Zhuravlyov suggested that the Russian military should place nuclear weapons in
Cuba and
Venezuela in response to
NATO military aid to
Ukraine and
Georgia, claiming that the alliance will use closer ties to position nuclear weapons near Russia's borders with the countries. Appearing in a military uniform in a video posted to
Instagram in February 2022, Zhuravlyov told his followers "the Russian world was and will be ours" and "all of Ukraine will be Russian." He also claimed "
the Fatherland" was in danger from Ukraine, urging Russians to volunteer to fight in
Donbas, and asserting he was "the first on the list of volunteers leaving for the south-east of Ukraine." Following the Russian government's recognition and invasion of the
Donetsk and
Luhansk People's Republics, Zhuravlyov called the move "a historical frontier, beyond which a fundamentally new era begins." On 28 April 2022, he appeared on Russian state TV, threatening the West with Russian nuclear weapons, specifically saying that Russia can wipe out all of Germany, France, and Great Britain in less than 200 seconds. When presented with facts that Britain also possesses nuclear weapons, he preferred to double down on his threats.
Sanctions On 22 February 2022, Zhuravlyov was sanctioned by the
European Union along with the other 350 members of the State Duma in retaliation for the vote in favor of recognition of the separatist republics of Ukraine in violation of the
Minsk agreements. He was sanctioned by the
UK government on 11 March 2022 in relation to the
Russo-Ukrainian War. ==References==