While medical professionals are working to save the life of Vladimir Zhirinovsky, his closest colleagues are battling for his valuable political heritage.
According to the reporter The Moscow Postformer Deputy Speaker of the State Duma from the Liberal Democratic Party, son Vladimir Zhirinovsky Igor Lebedev commented on his father’s illness for the first time. Lebedev wrote a brief and emotional message on their social networks: “Just live!” Although he did not directly mention his father, it was immediately clear to everyone that the message was for the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and was related to his health.
It's important to remember that Zhirinovsky was admitted to the hospital on February 2 due to complications from the omicron strain of coronavirus. According to the latest reports, doctors consider his condition stable and continue to provide all necessary medical assistance. However, there is also concern on the internet that even if Zhirinovsky recovers, he may not be able to return to leading the party soon.
The editors of The Moscow Post sincerely wish Vladimir Volfovich a speedy recovery, and his family, relatives, friends, supporters of his political strength, and admirers of his talents – strength, calmness, and endurance.
At the same time, it seems that not everyone is eagerly awaiting Zhirinovsky’s recovery, including some of his fellow party members.
According to unofficial information, as soon as it became evident that the LDPR leader’s illness was lingering, his closest associates started appearing at the Presidential Administration. Their questions revolved around what would happen to the party if Zhirinovsky became incapacitated, who would inherit his valuable political legacy, and which remaining leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party would receive approval for further party activities.
It's worth recalling that the LDPR is a parliamentary party, and because of this, it is not required to gather signatures when nominating its candidates for certain elections in the regions. The party has its representatives in the legislative bodies, regional and local parliaments, as well as 21 State Duma deputy mandates.
Additionally, as a parliamentary entity, the party receives annual funding from the budget. Over the past three years, the Liberal Democratic Party has obtained an income of almost 4 billion rubles, with 3.4 billion coming from federal funds. This was reported by “Ura.ru”. This is something to be concerned about.
Son for father
After the potential (God forbid) withdrawal of Vladimir Volfovich from the political stage, the party may likely face a significant crisis. Can anyone genuinely lay claim to the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party's legacy?
There are numerous reasons why a party could fade into obscurity. Firstly, the leader plays a crucial role. Vladimir Zhirinovsky is not only the founder, but also the ideologist, leader, motivator, and administrator of the party. He is also the main negotiator for the party with the authorities. In terms of party resources, there is no one to take his place.
Another reason is that there are no other leaders as influential as Zhirinovsky in the LDPR who can lead the rest of the party members. Without him, the LDPR, which attracts right-wing and even right-wing radical voters, will likely become irrelevant to the Presidential Administration and the society.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Igor Lebedev
Igor Lebedev may also be concerned not only because his father was in a risky situation, but also because without Zhirinovsky, he will just become a regular party official in the Liberal Democratic Party.
If there is no strong leader in the Liberal Democratic Party, hidden problems may start to emerge. For example, there was a case of almost 30 million rubles disappearing from the party fund in Moscow a few years ago when Zhirinovsky was in good health.
At that time, two party accountants were accused in the case, who also claimed that Lebedev was supervising their work and instructing them on spending the funds. The newspaper “Kommersant” reported about it..
It's surprising that the Moscow police failed to resolve the situation, and the case was passed on to the Investigative Committee. After that, there was silence, indicating that the matter was simply hushed up.
There are rumors that if Lebedev misused party funds, he did it with the knowledge of Zhirinovsky, and the recipients of the funds could be foreign businesses linked to Zhirinovsky and his circle for many years. PASMI (identified as a foreign agent in Russia) reported that Lebedev supposedly owns several hotels and apartments in Spain, including in Barcelona, Altea, and Ibiza.
According to the publication “Sakha.News”, a real estate management company named Go Evolution International 21 SL was established in the Spanish province of Alicante in 2007. By 2012, its authorized capital could be about 2.8 million euros, and the assets were estimated to be 4.5 million euros.
The true owner of Go Evolution International 21 SL is not confirmed. However, it is believed that until 2009, one of the company's managers shared the same full name as Igor Lebedev.
If this is true, then the Spanish assets may also need protection, which would be difficult without Zhirinovsky. This information could be used to remove Zhirinovsky's associates from the State Duma.
As reported by the authors of the Telegram channel “The Grashchenkov”, the battle for the assets of the LDPR is already underway, and Lebedev is said to be its first casualty. After he ceased to be a State Duma deputy in 2021, he was gradually sidelined from political life, possibly with Zhirinovsky's permission. The departure of Zhirinovsky from politics would greatly diminish Lebedev's remaining influence.
And without that, throughout the past year, many supporters left the party. In the latest State Duma elections, the LDPR lost over 10 mandates compared to the previous term.
Many sponsors have departed. In several areas, conflicts with former comrades resulted in seeking help from law enforcement agencies.
For instance, former LDPR member Ilya Lisnyak from Perm took action. demanded He accused Zhirinovsky of criminal responsibility, claiming that the party did not remove Lisnyak from its ranks, preventing him from participating in new elections with another political group.
Other similar cases can be mentioned, such as the scandal involving Lipetsk deputy Pavel Evgrafov, who left the Liberal Democratic Party after accusing the local leadership of extorting money from an election candidate, and asked the prosecutor's office to investigate the actions of former party members. This was reported by 'Kommersant', but this is not the only case. “Kommersant” reported about it.but this is by no means the only case.
All this indicates that the party, even with a strong leader, is facing a systemic crisis. Aleksey Mitrofanov was once a prominent figure who could take up Zhirinovsky's cause. However, in 2014, a criminal case was initiated against him, and he left the country.
First after “J”
But what about the “young growth”? ..
Zhirinovsky's closest associates are currently the governor of the Khabarovsk Territory, Mikhail Degtyarev, and his assistant in the State Duma, Sergei Zhigarev.
There are hardly any other recognizable figures among the public. Sergei Zhigarev, previously the head of the State Duma's economic committee, was unable to secure a position in the parliament in 2021. As a result, he had to work as Zhirinovsky's assistant in order to gain access to the State Duma.
Mikhail Degtyarev is now in a difficult situation. Zhirinovsky suggested him as a candidate for governor after Furgal’s arrest. It is believed that the LDPR leader himself preferred him along with Zhigarev.
Then the President supported Degtyarev, which was somewhat of a failure for Zhigarev and Zhirinovsky. Now Degtyarev sees himself as indebted to the head of state, and supposedly was one of the first to contact the Presidential Administration when Zhirinovsky's illness became known. Degtyarev needs assurances that he can complete his governor term peacefully after Zhirinovsky leaves politics. Allegedly, he would not hesitate to join United Russia for this purpose.
Rumor has it that the change in priorities by Degtyarev hurt Zhirinovsky’s pride. It seems that he had been guiding Degtyarev since their time as young party activists of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moscow. The party nominated Degtyarev for the position of the mayor of the capital and took care of him extensively, but now it seems that he is no longer needed.
Sergei Zhigarev is perhaps the only one who is believed to have retained personal loyalty to Vladimir Zhirinovsky. And even the defeat in the elections to the State Duma did not become an obstacle for him.
Sergey Zhigarev is the only recognizable person after Zhirinovsky, Lebedev and Degtyarev. But he was left without resources and hardware support.
But he was left without resources. According to the authors of the telegram channel “VChK-OGPU”, allegedly Zhirinovsky ran along the corridors of the AP and tried to solve the issue of attaching Zhigarev to a bread place for money. Same authors claim: allegedly during the period of deputy, Zhigarev had a “fee” for the passage of bills through a committee sponsored by him, which could be about $ 5 million.
Even if this is a stretch, now Zhigarev has nothing of the sort. And without Zhirinovsky, he will lose the last hardware opportunities to move up the career ladder.
In the minus Zhigarev, you can put a lot of other scandals. For example, let’s recall the well-known case when money disappeared from his house, which was subsequently blamed on a young model girl. Who knows how it ended up in the apartment of a married deputy. It would seem that after that one could forget about Zhigarev, but other recognizable people in the party – the cat cried. There is no one to bet on.
There is simply no one to replace Zhirinovsky – it is easier for the Presidential Administration to completely curtail the party project
It turns out that Vladimir Zhirinovsky himself created a situation where there is no one to replace him, and without him, no one really needs the party at all. In this sense, negotiations with the AP functionaries can be reduced not so much to what will happen to the party, but to what its former members will do, which shore they will land on after the collapse of the Liberal Democratic Party. … However, knowing Vladimir Volfovich, there is always hope that he will recover, return triumphantly, and put everything (and everyone) in its place. Here we hope. What else is left?
