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THE JEWISH NEWS

Mr. Zhirinovsky, who has nev-
er had the reputation of being a
typical politician, has among his
go a ls bringing Alaska back to its
"rightful owner." As with many
before him, including Josef Stal-
in, Mr. Zhirinovsky is convinced
Russia rented Alaska to the Unit-
ed States with the understanding
it would be returned in 1966.
In !Zhirinovsky!, just published
by Columbia University Press, au-
thor Vladimir Kartsev tells the
story of the controversial politi-
cian, a man Westerners general-
ly regard as something of a brute
and opportunist, but whom Rus-
sians adore. He is, they say, a man
who "knows how to get things
done."
!Zhirinovsky! also is the story
of a society crumbling into decay,
a nation of criminals and savagery
and turmoil. The former Soviet
Union has no moral base or tra-
dition and is ripe for another
Hitler, Mr. Kartsev says. Mr.
Zhirinovsky is merely a symptom
of it all.
Mr. Kartsev, who was in De-
troit last week, came to know Mr.
Zhirinovsky at Mir Publishing in
Moscow. Mr. Kartsev was direc-
tor of the state-owned company,
and Mr. Zhirinovsky was its gen-
eral counsel.
Today Mr. Kartsev, who is
based in Moscow and New York,
runs his own Russian-American
publishing house. Mr. Zhirinovsky

PHOTO CREDIT: RNS PHOTO/R EUTER S

Vladimir Kartsev sees a bleak future for

Russia.

As Russia continues to strug-
gle economically, Mr. Zbirinovsky
once said to foreign journalists,
"Look at the names of the presi-
dents of our companies," all of
whom appeared to be Jewish.
This, he suggested, could be one
reason for Russia's growing anti-
Semitism.
And while Mr. Kartsev does
not believe anti-Semitism in the
former Soviet Union really is in-
creasing, Mr. Zhirinovsky likely
sees it that way, he says. And this
explains Mr. Zhirinovsky's own
apparent anti-Semitism. He is
simply an opportunist, a man try-
ing to capitalize on what he sees
as a trend.
"He's a political chameleon,"
Mr. Kartsev states. "He says
everything he thinks his audi-
ence wants to hear.
"There are some people, you
say 'Jew' and their eyes start to
glow in anger and they get very
excited. Zhirinovsky is not like
that."
Mr. Zhirinovsky
represents himself
as a man of the
people, and in
many ways he is.
Unlike some for-
mer Soviet leaders,
he actually lives
humbly. His apart-
ment is small and
inexpensively fur-
nished. He doesn't
collect art or spend
his evenings at the
theater.
"He's quite lim-
ited in his hob-
bies," Mr. Kartsev
says. "He doesn't
have any."
He does have
Vladimir Zhirinovsky: Anti Semite or opportunist?
an affinity for
American films,
Mr. Kartsev says that "judg- though. One of Mr. Zhirinovsky's
ing from documents, it's clear his favorites, which he watched re-
father was Jewish. But it's not peatedly, was Midnight Express,
the story of an American caught
relevant."
What is relevant is the way trying to smuggle drugs out of
Mr. Zhirinovsky regards Russ- Turkey.
Mr. Kartsev does not predict
ian society in general.
Back in the 1980s, when the another remarkable victory for
two men worked for seven years Mr. Zhirinovsky in the upcom-
together at Mir, Mr. Kartsev ing Soviet elections, though he
"never heard him say anything does foresee a better future for
anti-Semitic, anything that even him than the stodgy Boris
Yeltsin.
suggested anti-Semitism."
Mr. Kartsev believes Mr.
In more recent years, Mr.
Zhirinovsky has not made any Zhirinovsky will capture about
10 percent of the vote, and Mr.
blatantly anti-Jewish comments,
no calls for ousting Jews from Yeltsin (assuming he's well
Russia, for example. But "I have enough to run), about 7 percent.
Especially because of the in-
heard remarks that could be con-
sidered anti-Semitic," Mr. Kart- vasion of Chechnya, Mr. Yeltsin
"is not highly respected in Rus-
sev says.

remains in Russia, where he is the
founder and head of the Liberal
Democratic Party, which secured
more votes than any other in the
last Russian elections.
Much has been made
of Mr. Zhirinovsky's al-
leged anti-Semitism, as
well as of his Jewish
background. Mr. Kart-
sev says perspective is
required on both.
Listening to Mr. Zhiri-
novsky, it's difficult to tell
a great deal about his an-
cestry. The man he gen-
erally describes as his
father is a composite of
several men in his moth-
er's life (one of whom def-
initely was Jewish), and
Mr. Zhirinovsky has re-
marked, "My mpther is
Russian, my father was
a lawyer." Clearly, crit-
ics insist, he is trying to
hide his Jewish connec-
tion.

f Vladimir Zhirinovsky has his
way, Eskimos could soon be
saying stdrasvotya and no meal
of whale blubber would be com-
plete without a glass of vodka.

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