In the lead up to the preceding 1999 Russian legislative election Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic party encountered issues regarding its registration.[1] The party instead competed under the temporary name of the Zhirinovsky Bloc.[2] The party outperformed the polls, capturing 6% of the vote.[1][2] This demonstrated the party's ability to retain strong loyalty amongst its base of fervent supporters.[2]
Zhirinovsky was not regarded to be a serious competitor in the 2000 presidential election.[3][4] He was largely regarded to be a political "clown".[3][5] Zhirinovsky nevertheless retained the support of dedicated followers, who were estimated to comprise between one and three percent of the Russian electorate. His appeal beyond that was hardly existent.[3]
Campaigning
As a candidate Zhirinovsky stirred up support through wild antics as well as by appealing to commoners, and by using nationalistic rhetoric.[3]
Zhirinovsky had acquired a broad reputation for corruption by 2000.[4]
Zhirinovsky's campaign demonstrated a coziness between him and Putin, having become a favorite "opposition" candidate of Putin's administration.[4] He was seen as, arguably, the most pro-Putin opponent of Putin in the 2000 presidential election.[4] He had become a loyal ally of Putin in the Duma.[5] He avoided criticizing Putin.[4] Zhirinovsky instead focused attacks on others, such as Grigory Yavlinsky, who he accused of having been "bought" by wealthy supporters.[4]
_(cropped).jpg)
