Russia: who is Leonid Sloutski, the new leader of the ultranationalist party?

Unanimously elected on Friday to take over from the late Vladimir Zhirinovsky, emblematic founder of the LDPR, the Russian ultranationalist party, Leonid Sloutski becomes its new leader. The Duma deputy, who says he wants to “strengthen the social policy of the LDPR”, was among the figures targeted by European sanctions following the annexation of Crimea in 2014. He has also been targeted by accusations of harassment sex and corruption. Long in the shadow of the emblematic Vladimir Jironovski, who died last April, he is now in charge. Deputy Leonid Sloutski was chosen on Friday, May 27, to lead the Russian ultranationalist party, Liberalno-democratitchestkaïa Partia Rossii or Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR).Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Duma, the lower house of parliament Russian leader Leonid Slutsky was part of the Moscow delegation during recent peace talks with kyiv, talks stalled since March. unanimity” at a congress in Moscow. He was the only candidate. “Leonid Sloutski was unanimously elected new president of the LDPR”, writes the party on its Twitter account. “The LDPR will continue the work of the party’s founder, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, and will continue to work for the benefit of Greater Russia!” Новым Председателем ЛДПР единогласно избран Леонид Слуцкий. 86 делегатов со Всей страны Выррали ео Премником Владимира жириновского на Внеочередном cast
ЛДПР продолжит дело основателя партии Владимира Жириновского и будет дальше работать на благо Великой России!— ЛДПР (@ldprparty) May 27, 2022 “La stratégie du Parti libéral démocrate reste la même”, a souligné Léonid Sloutski, après son élection. “The only thing is that it will be modified in the direction of solving the tasks that have been set on the ground and are aimed at strengthening the social policy of the Liberal Democratic Party”, reports his party on Twitter. Trained as an economist, he is a deputy since 2000. Until now number 2 of the LDPR, his name is associated with several cases, from Western sanctions against Russia after the annexation of Crimea to accusations of sexual harassment, through revelations of facts of corruption.Harassment sexualIn 2004, after Russian troops were sent to take control of Crimea, Moscow organized a referendum to justify the annexation of the region. In response, the European Union (EU) implemented sanctions against Russia, targeted 21 personalities – including Leonid Sloutski – by prohibiting them from traveling to the EU and freezing their financial assets. In February and March 2018, the member finds himself at the heart of a scandal. Leonid Sloutsky is accused of sexual harassment by several Russian journalists, accusations that are rare in Russia, a country lagging far behind in the fight against gender-based violence, where it is rarely investigated. The journalists, including Farida Rustamova who at the time worked for the BBC’s Russian service, accused Leonid Slutsky of obscene remarks and touching, breaking the silence on a subject that remains largely taboo in Russia. At the time, the MP called the accusations a ‘cheap, low-level provocation’ and dismissed them as a political attack ordered by his enemies, even saying the scandal had ‘strengthened [ma] dignity rather than taking it away.” draw the attention of the Anti-Corruption Foundation created by the Russian opponent Alexei Navalny. The Foundation had documented how Leonid Sloutski’s wife had bought a luxury Bentley, a car costing more than was financed by an interest-free loan of 25 million rubles ($440,000) from an Azerbaijani billionaire promoter. According to Alexei Navalny, the loan was linked to lobbying for the billionaire’s interests in Moscow and was done through another Duma legislator, a leading ally of former Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov. , in less than a year, racked up 825 unpaid fines, mostly for dangerous driving, which the new LDPR chief admitted in an interview with Snob magazine, a website targeting Russia’s economic and cultural elites. “I don’t buy luxury goods,” he said. “I prefer to spend money on something more substantial. For example, on the restoration of churches.” After his election on Friday, he promised to “strengthen” his party’s social program, according to the TASS news agency. “Not a peaceful year” The LDPR, founded in 1992 by Vladimir Zhirinovsky, and centered around its historical leader until his recent death, is often considered, especially by the foreign media, as a populist, nationalist or ultranationalist party . He won 7.55% of the vote in the 2021 legislative elections, behind the Communists (18.93%) and Vladimir Putin’s party (49.82%). Classified on the far right, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who died in April at 74, had participated in almost all the presidential elections of modern Russia. His party has always been represented and clearly visible in local and national bodies. However, the LDPR is accused of playing a front opposition role which, in the end, always lines up behind Vladimir Putin’s major decisions. Anti-Western ideas by Vladimir Zhirinovsky, obsessed with the greatness of Russia, and which seemed extreme in the 1990s, gradually imposed themselves in Russian public life, including in the Kremlin. At the end of 2021, Vladimir Zhirinovsky predicted that the year 2022 ” will not be a peaceful year, it will be the year when Russia becomes a power again”, thus announcing the military intervention in Ukraine. With AFP