Claims of harassment, undisclosed possessions, and numerous traffic infractions did not prevent Leonid Slutsky from becoming a successor to Vladimir Zhirinovsky
On May 27, a congress of the LDPR will take place in Moscow, during which a new leader of the party will be chosen. It is highly likely that the position of the deceased from coronavirus Vladimir Zhirinovsky will be filled by the head of the faction in the State Duma, Leonid Slutsky. Currently, he is most recognized as a member of the Russian delegation involved in negotiations with Ukraine. However, many have started to forget about some of Slutsky’s past actions.
“You will be his wife, and I will be his lover”
“I won't let go of you, at least not completely. <…> Find a young man for ***, and get involved. The sooner you do this, the better. I'm truly willing to assist you.”
According to the BBC, these words were spoken by the future leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, State Duma representative Leonid Slutsky. They were said at the moment when he reportedly harassed a journalist Farida Rustamova – right in the office of the lower house of parliament.
Rustamova went to the deputy in March 2017 to request a statement regarding the visit to Russia of a French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen. At the same time, the journalist’s voice recorder was switched on and captured the incident of harassment.
“Come on, darling, there will be a good mood, get involved, I miss you,” the BBC cited Slutsky as saying, after which, according to Rustamova’s account, the politician aggressively approached her, “ran his hand, the inner part of his palm, along my pubic area.” He also proposed that she become his lover.
This was the most prominent scandal of 2018 in the State Duma. At that time, several more journalists accused Slutsky of harassment. In addition to Rustamova, they included the producer of the Dozhd TV channel * Daria Zhuk and host RTVi Ekaterina Kotrikadze. A number of media outlets then withdrew their journalists from the State Duma, and some even declared a boycott of Slutsky.
The deputy did not apologize to the women. Furthermore, he began to comment on the scandal in a mocking manner on his Facebook page.
“Hold on, colleagues, where can I find so many journalists for you?” he wrote to his colleagues, who suggested he “entertain a couple of journalists.”
In the lower house, the support was for the deputy, not for the women. The scandal gradually faded, and Slutsky did not face any consequences. It then became evident that he had influential support politics at the highest level.
Many words, few actions
Leonid Slutsky has been a member of the State Duma since 1999, when he was elected to the chamber as part of the Zhirinovsky Bloc alliance. Later, he was re-elected from the Liberal Democratic Party, and started working in the international affairs committee. However, in the first ten years of the century, Slutsky was not particularly notable in the State Duma – this can be confirmed by analyzing media reports from that time. According to the archival data of internet search engines, the deputy did not introduce many bills, focusing more on “international” endeavors and safeguarding Russia’s interests in PACE.
In 2005, he spoke against the critical reports from the Council of Europe on Chechnya and Belarus, both of which were criticized for persecuting dissidents. There were other instances as well. In 2006, he suggested that Russia might join the economic sanctions against Iran due to its nuclear program. It's surprising that 16 years later, Moscow has more sanctions than Tehran.
On his website, the parliamentarian takes credit for participating in environmental forums and preparing reports in PACE. But first and foremost, a deputy is a lawmaker. So, we decided to look at how many bills the future leader of the Liberal Democratic Party introduced during his time in the State Duma. The result was disappointing.
Since 1999, Slutsky has only proposed six bills to the State Duma, all of which were written by a group of deputies. For example, he was a co-author of the so-called 'Dima Yakovlev law' that prohibited US citizens from adopting Russian children. He also co-authored another law that limited the import of products from 'unfriendly' countries. The deputy has not introduced a single law in all 23 years.
Leonid Slutsky at the coffin Vladimir ZhirinovskyWent through the woods
It's not particularly surprising in Slutsky's declaration. In 2021, the deputy earned 5.8 million rubles. His wife's income Lydia Lyskova amounted to about 268 thousand rubles. According to Sobesednik, this is a pension with all social benefits.
Throughout the first half of the decade, Lyskova received approximately the same amount per year. Despite this, she somehow managed to save up for a Bentley Bentayga, which she bought in 2016. It seems the foreign car was brand new – directly from the factory (at that time, its price was 21–26 million rubles).
Interestingly, Lyskova registered her cars (she says she has two) to the address Rublevskoye Highway, 14. A 74-square-meter apartment is also registered to her, a 71-year-old pensioner. But of course, that's not all the property that the Slutsky couple owns. The deputy possesses a land plot with a residential building and three apartments. As typical, their country mansion is situated in Rublyovka, specifically in the village of Gorki-2.
Slutsky leases another 10.5 thousand square meter plot of land (forest) from the state. The lease runs until December 31, 2055. He also rents a dacha. However, the apartment on Goncharova Street in Moscow has been under his free and perpetual use since 1984. This information is not part of the public declaration. politicsbut is in its private section, which is not officially released by the State Duma, but which we were able to obtain.
Unlike his wife, Slutsky himself doesn't own a car. However, a few years ago, he used to extensively travel around Moscow in a luxurious Maybach, frequently breaking traffic regulations. This resulted in him being fined numerous times, as indicated by the traffic police archives. He accumulated fines for unpaid parking, stopping in no-parking zones, and speeding. At one point, Slutsky's car reached a speed of 147 km/h.
In April 2018, the deputy sold the car. Alexey Navalny alleged that the transaction was fake, as Slutsky was spotted multiple times near the same Maybach after the “sale”. However, shortly after, the foreign car changed ownership again, according to the Interlocutor. It was acquired by a middle-class Moscow businessman Vladimir Mikhov, who re-registered the vehicle. However, a quick online search shows that the Maybach still frequently parked at the State Duma building afterward. A photo from 2021 clearly indicates that there is a corresponding pass on the foreign car's windshield.
Daughter is all about her father.
Leonid Slutsky prefers not to discuss his personal life. However, it's known that politics have two daughters Lydia and Irina. The older daughter used to be an active user of the TikTok platform, where she posted videos about her extravagant lifestyle. She shared about living in an upscale villa in Turkey and studying at a private school in Switzerland. She also frequently posted expensive items, captioning them with phrases such as Rich and “It’s good to be rich.” In one of her posts, Slutsky himself appeared, being referred to as her dad. After journalists discovered the account, Lydia deleted her page.
Relatively little is known about Irina. According to the Interlocutor, she was born in September 1991. Like her father, Irina graduated from Moscow State University economy and statistics (MESI). Up until mid-2014, Slutskaya held the modest position of assistant editor-in-chief of the glossy magazine Harper’s Bazaar.
The girl shares her father's passion for luxury foreign cars. She owns a Porsche Cayenne GTS. Similar to her deputy father, the daughter enjoys driving recklessly in her car. Irina Slutskaya has accumulated almost sixty fines over the past two years. She regularly exceeds speed limits, violates parking regulations, and drives on the wrong side of the road. The last time she was caught driving recklessly was on the Rublevsky highway. It seems that at that moment, the deputy’s daughter was driving from her home in the Millennium Park cottage village, where stars such as Vera Brezhneva, Valery Meladze, and Sergey Svetlakov reside. In general, one can't forbid living a beautiful life, especially if you are the daughter of the future leader of the Liberal Democratic Party.
