Creation Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union An effectively
multi-party system emerged in the
Soviet Union in the late 1980s in wake of
Mikhail Gorbachev's
reforms. A formal law for this purpose was introduced in October 1990. In April 1991, the
Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union (LDPSU) became the second officially registered
political party in the country. Former KGB General
Filipp Bobkov has stated that "in line with
Zubatov's ideas," the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union "proposed creating a pseudo-party controlled by the KGB" to direct the interests and sentiments of certain social groups, however he said that he was against the idea. Former
Politburo member
Alexander Yakovlev described how KGB director
Vladimir Kryuchkov proposed the creation of the party with Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev at a meeting. He also stated that the Central Committee took over which led to the creation of the Liberal Democratic Party. Yakovlev called the creation of the party a joint effort of the Central Committee and the KGB. In the early 1990s, Mayor of
Saint Petersburg,
Anatoly Sobchak claimed that party leader
Vladimir Zhirinovsky was a "reserve" KGB captain, and a number of key supporters in the LDPR leadership quit the party, accusing Zhirinovsky of KGB ties. The outspoken leader of the party,
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, an effective media performer, He also supported the
August 1991 coup attempt.
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia In 1992, the LDPSU broke apart into its regional offsprings and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) was created as its successor in Russia.
Zhirinovsky's leadership 1993–1999 In the
1993 Duma elections, the pro-reform party supporting
President Boris Yeltsin,
Russia's Choice, received only 15% of the vote and the new
Communist Party of the Russian Federation only 12.4%. The LDPR emerged as the winner with 22.9% of the popular vote. In effect, the Russian population was divided between those who supported Yeltsin's reforms and to those who did not. It is regarded that the popularity of Zhirinovsky and his party arose from the electorate's dissatisfaction with Yeltsin and their desire for a non-communist solution. Zhirinovsky is credited with having successfully identified the problems of ordinary Russians and offering simple remedies to solve them. For example, he has suggested that all leaders of
organized crime should be shot and all
Chechens deported from Russia. In the
3rd State Duma, Zhirinovsky took up the post of
Deputy Chair of the State Duma and the post of the head of the faction occupied by his son
Igor Lebedev.
2000–2009 In the
presidential election of 2000, the party has again put forward Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who won 2.7% of votes. In the
parliamentary elections of 2003, the party won 11.5% of the votes and received 36 seats. In the
2004 presidential election, the LDPR nominated
Oleg Malyshkin. The party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky was hoping to take the post of
Prime Minister of Russia in case of Malyshkin's victory on elections. In the end, Malyshkin scored 2% of votes, having lost the election. In the
legislative elections in 2007, the LDPR received 5,660,823 votes (8.14%) and received 40 seats in the State Duma.
Proshka, a
donkey owned by Zhirinovsky, became prominent during the presidential campaign when he was filmed in an
election advertisement video. On the last episode of debates with
Mikhail Prokhorov just before the elections, Zhirinovsky produced a scandal by calling those Russian celebrities which supported Prokhorov, including a pop-
diva and a veteran of Russian pop scene
Alla Pugacheva, "prostitutes" ("I thought you are an artful person, politician, cunning man, but you are just a clown and a psycho", replied Pugacheva. "I am what I am. And such is my charm", replied Zhirinovsky). As a result, Zhirinovsky gained 6.2% of the votes. During the
diplomatic crisis following the
2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown by Turkey, Zhirinovsky suggested to bomb the
Bosporus with nuclear weapons. In the
parliamentary elections in 2016, the party improved its result compared to the previous elections. The LDPR surpassed the
center-left party
A Just Russia, becoming the third largest party in the State Duma. The LDPR won 39 seats, gaining 13.1% of the vote, nearly reaching the second placed Communist Party, which won 13.3% of votes and 42 seats. Also, the party gained single-member constituencies in Russian Far East (notably in
Khabarovsk Krai). In 2015, Zhirinovsky expressed a desire to participate in the
presidential elections in 2018. In the past, key figures in the LDPR other than Zhirinovsky had been discussed as potential presidential candidates, such as Zhirinovsky's son Igor Lebedev as well as his close associates
Mikhail Degtyarev,
Yaroslav Nilov and
Alexei Didenko. After the parliamentary elections of 2016, Zhirinovsky said he would run himself.
2020–2022 On 9 July 2020, the popular governor of the Khabarovsk Krai and member of the LDPR,
Sergei Furgal, who defeated the candidate of Putin's
United Russia party in elections two years previously, was arrested and flown to Moscow on charges of involvement in the murders of several businessmen in 2004 and 2005. He denied the allegations. Starting on 11 June,
mass protests were held in Khabarovsk Krai in support of Furgal. On 20 July, President Vladimir Putin dismissed Furgal from his position of governor and appointed Moscow-based politician
Mikhail Degtyarev, who is also a member of the LDPR, as acting governor. Several regional lawmakers in Khabarovsk opted to leave the LDPR in protest against Furgal's dismissal. The protests included chants of "shame on LDPR", with LDPR loyalists outraged at the party leadership's failure to rally around Furgal. In March, he was reportedly placed in a
medically induced coma, and underwent treatment for COVID-19 complications such as
sepsis and
respiratory failure. Zhirinovsky claimed to have been vaccinated against COVID-19 eight times. On 25 March 2022, Zhirinovsky was reported to have died in a hospital. Despite confirmation from several sources, including his own political party, the news was quickly denied by family members. On 6 April 2022,
Vyacheslav Volodin, the
Speaker of the Duma, announced that Zhirinovsky had died following a long illness. He was 75. After Zhirinovsky's death,
Leonid Slutsky, the head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, was elected party leader.
Slutsky's leadership Election In May 2022, an extraordinary congress of the party was held, at which its new leader was elected. Initially, Leonid Slutsky and Khabarovsk Governor
Mikhail Degtyarev were considered the main candidates. However, shortly before the congress, Degtyarev declined to run for party leader and publicly endorsed Slutsky. Other persons who declared their intention to run for the leadership of the party were not allowed to vote. In this connection, Slutsky was elected the new leader of the party on an uncontested basis.
2022–present In 2024, Slutsky was nominated as the party's presidential candidate. Speculation about Slutsky's possible intention to run for president began immediately after his election as party leader. At the same time, Slutsky himself refused to give a clear answer about his participation in the elections, stating only that the party would definitely nominate its presidential candidate. According to media reports, the nomination of Slutsky was the main option for the party's participation in the election. In addition, according to political scientists, participation in the elections was necessary for Slutsky to strengthen his position in the party. If Zhirinovsky was one of the founders and the undisputed party leader, then Slutsky did not have such authority, and he had to fight several intra-party groups at once, including
Alexei Didenko and
Yaroslav Nilov, who previously were removed by Slutsky from leadership positions in the party's apparatus, and also such as
Boris Chernyshov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma and
2023 candidate for Mayor of Moscow, applying for the post of party leader. In May 2024, when the
second Mishustin government was formed,
Mikhail Degtyarev was appointed
Russian Minister of Sport. Degtyarev became the first Liberal Democratic Party member to join the government since 1999. A number of Russian media outlets noted that Slutsky had purged the party of disloyal politicians. So, in December 2023, former State Duma deputy
Vasily Vlasov, who was one of Zhirinovsky's closest associates, was expelled from the Liberal Democratic Party. In June 2025, Yaroslav Nilov was expelled from the party, whom Zhirinovsky publicly announced as one of his possible successors. == Political positions ==