Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, yesterday afternoon visited the cities of Hisor and Tursunzoda and was fascinated by Tajik hospitality.
In Hisor, Zhirinovsky was greeted with bread and salt to the sound of karnays and surnays (Central Asian musical instruments). LDPR leader visited the Hisor Fortress and get acquainted with history of Central Asian medieval town planning.
In Tursunzoda, Zhirinovsky visited the Tajik aluminum smelter and held meeting with representatives of local Russian ethnic community.
After that, he visited vineyards of local farmer Hoji Nemat Usmonov. Usmonov treated Zhirinovsky with Tajik traditional national cuisine qurutob.
Qurutob is eaten with hands from a communal plate. Its name describes the preparation method: qurut (dried balls of salty cheese) is dissolved in water (Tajik: ob) and the liquid is poured over strips of а thin flaky flatbread (fatir). Before serving the dish is topped with onions fried in oil until golden and other fried vegetables.
Zhirinovsky liked qurutob and was eating it the traditional way: with hands.
LDPR leader also took part in vintage in Tursunzoda. He praised skills of Tajik farmers, noting: “That's what it means when land belongs to farmers. In Russia, land is ownerless.”
Today, LDPR leader is scheduled to hold meeting s with Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) Speaker Shukurjon Zuhurov and Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muriddin.
He will also meet with students at the Russian-Tajik Slavic University (RTSU) and visit Tajik National Museum, Mehrgon Bazaar and Kokhi Navrouz Complex in Dushanbe.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky arrived in Dushanbe yesterday on a two-day working visit.
Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky (born April 25, 1946) is a Russian ultranationalist politician and leader of the LDPR party (formerly Liberal Democratic Party of Russia). He is fiercely nationalist and has been described as “a showman of Russian politics, blending populist and nationalist rhetoric, anti-Western invective and a brash, confrontational style.” His views have sometimes been described by western media as fascist.
The Liberal Democratic Party was founded in April 1991, becoming the second registered party in the Soviet Union and therefore the first officially sanctioned opposition party.
Zhirinovsky's first political breakthrough came in June 1991 when he came third in Russia's first presidential election, gathering more than six million votes or 7.81%. Afterwards, the LDPR garnered a reputation as an ineffective vehicle for opposition against the government, and one that lacked either credibility or authenticity.
The LDPR gathered 23% of the vote in the 1993 Duma elections and achieved a broad representation throughout the country – the LDPR being the top vote-getter in 64 out of 87 regions.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky is member of the State Duma (1993–present); he was Deputy Chairman of the State Duma (2000–2011) and Liberal Democratic presidential candidate 1991, 1996, 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2018.
