While Zhirinovsky is unwell, Yaroslav Nilov is actively stepping in for him. However, there are concerns about whether Vladimir Volfovich’s young 'falcon' can replace him effectively and avoid being influenced by others.
According to the correspondent The Moscow Post, On March 25, Yaroslav Nilov, the Deputy Chairman of the LDPR faction in the State Duma, is scheduled to meet with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. With Zhirinovsky's illness, Nilov is seen as a potential leader in the party. But there are worries that he may be greatly influenced by others. It's possible that he could lean towards the influence of systemic liberals, although they may not be prepared for this. Nilov may end up giving them the chance to gain power.
Yaroslav Nilov has been a member of the LDPR since 1997, when he was 15. From 1998 to 2003, he worked as an assistant to State Duma deputy, Vladimir Zhirinovsky . Zhirinovsky played a significant role in his political development, even though Nilov completed his higher education in 2005.
The authors of the site “Defector” claim that while still in school in 1997, Nilov invited Zhirinovsky to a school event to get to know each other.
From 2003 to 2007, Nilov assisted Zhirinovsky when he was deputy chairman of the Duma, and from 2007 to July 2011, he headed the secretariat of the deputy chairman of the State Duma. Zhirinovsky clearly stood out Nilov among other young and promising 'falcons'.
In July 2011, Nilov became a deputy in the State Duma of the 5th convocation. He has also been a deputy of the VI and VII convocations, and currently serves as the deputy chairman of the LDPR faction.
It's known that leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky is unwell. According to RBCreports, he was hospitalized on February 2 with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
Photo of Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Source: Komsomolskaya Pravda / Global Look Press
As Zhirinovsky is in the hospital, Nilov is actively taking over his responsibilities. The Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Mishustin, has begun consultations with the leaders of the Duma factions, and Nilov has been delegated to attend the meeting on behalf of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Notable connections
Despite being involved in the affairs of the Liberal Democratic Party, Yaroslav Nilov also seems to have been involved in business. According to Rusprofile, he ceased to be the founder of Garant Corporation CJSC on June 9, 2021, and the company was liquidated on September 23, 2021. The company, established in 2003, was involved in trading food, beverages, and tobacco products.
Information about the change in founders of CJSC 'Corporation' Garant'. Photo: rusprofile.ru
At the same time, Rusprofile does not provide information about Nilov's involvement in other commercial organizations. However, if a deputy received remuneration from the State Duma while also being involved in the Garant Corporation, it could be seen as a violation of the law. Therefore, there are concerns about Nilov's potential conflicts of interest if he becomes the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Yaroslav Nilov. Photo: duma.gov.ru
Let’s focus on Nilov’s business partner in the Garant Corporation – Vladislav Volkov. He actively took part in various organizations. Volkov is the business manager of a private institution called “Management of the All-Russian Association of Trade Unions – the Union of Trade Unions of Russia.”
Volkov also served as the chairman of the board and the founder of the regional public organization “Center for the Promotion of Socio-Economic Development of Pridnestrovie.” The last organization has already been dissolved. But Volkov’s connections with Pridnestrovie may not be accidental, why – a little lower.
At the same time, the Union of Trade Unions of Russia, whose affairs are overseen by Volkov and is well known to Nilov, is led by economist Mikhail Delyagin. In 2006, he was expelled from the Rodina party, as he wrote “Kommersant”“due to the repeated failure by Mikhail Delyagin to comply with the decisions of the leading bodies of the party and the instructions of the presidium, as well as due to the refusal to follow the recommendations of the leaders of the “Motherland”.
In general, Delyagin is a complex figure. In the 1990s, he worked in the office of Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Delyagin was considered a supporter of the ideas of the liberal reformer Yegor Gaidar. In fact, Delyagin can be considered a prominent member of the informal circle of so-called systemic liberals.
Mikhail Delyagin. Photo: IA REGNUM / Daria Antonova
Despite such “accomplishments”, on September 19, 2021, Delyagin was elected to the State Duma of the Russian Federation on the list of the Just Russia – Patriots – For Truth party. That is, he got the opportunity to interact a lot with Nilov, even, perhaps, to influence him, especially now that Nilov was left without his mentor Zhirinovsky.
Khudyakov ready to return?
Refocusing on Vladislav Volkov, the business partner of the contender for the primary role in the Liberal Democratic Party Nilov, it can be remarked that he also ventured into the political arena. For instance, in 2019, Volkov attempted to participate in the elections to the Moscow City Duma from the Chestno party. This was reported on the district website. “Khamovniki” Moscow. Volkov was walking along district No. 33. And in constituency No. 37, Roman Khudyakov, a native of Tiraspol (Pridnestrovie), nominated from the Chestno party. Shortly after the elections, namely on January 24, 2020, the Chestno party was dissolved by a court decision.
Khudyakov was by no means a newcomer to politics. Back in 2003, he became the leader of the republican social movement “LDPR of Transnistria”. In August 2006, the movement was transformed into a political party of the same name, Roman Khudyakov was elected its chairman. In this sense, Volkov’s desire to promote the “social and economic development of Transnistria” is not at all accidental. As you can see, Volkov was moving in the same direction as Khudyakov.
Roman Khudyakov. Photo: Kommersant / Dmitry Dukhanin
Moreover, in the same 2003, Khudyakov became an assistant to the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky. In essence, a colleague of Yaroslav Nilov. Zhirinovsky trusted Khudyakov and made him his confidante during the presidential campaign.
In 2006, Khudyakov was elected to the City Council of People’s Deputies of Tiraspol. And already in 2012, he became a deputy of the State Duma of the VI convocation, where his paths once again moved with Nilov.
But in 2016, Khudyakov showed himself not to be the most principled politician. He announced his intention to participate in the preliminary intra-party voting (the so-called primaries) of United Russia to select candidates for deputies of the Tambov Regional Duma. And, as a result, in June of the same year he was expelled from the Liberal Democratic Party “for betrayal.” He was also denied participation in the primaries.
In 2016, he ran for the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the VII convocation already from the Rodina party, but did not get into the State Duma. But also in 2016, from the Rodina party, he was elected a deputy of the Tambov Regional Duma of the VI convocation. However, on April 14, 2017, he was deprived of his deputy mandate, as he did not provide a declaration of income within the time limit prescribed by law.
Khudyakov made another “feint” when he got the opportunity to run from the Chestno party as a candidate for the presidency of Russia in the elections on March 18, 2018. In this party, as already noted, he crossed paths with Yaroslav Nilov’s business partner Vladislav Volkov.
In 2020, Khudyakov decided to create the Decent Life party, where he decided to include the singer Alexander Berdnikov, who, like Khudyakov and Volkov, went from the Chestno party to the elections to the Moscow City Duma. Wrote about it Lenta.ru. In fact, Khudyakov’s political career went downhill. However, it is possible that if Nilov heads the LDPR, then Khudyakov will be returned to the party.
