Calls have been voiced in Russia for Vladimir Putin to officially become the country’s czar and for citizens to support Russian Orthodoxy. The president’s post should be replaced with that of an emperor, while autocracy should be officially introduced in Russia in the form of absolute monarchy.
Such a statement was made by State Duma’s left-wing radical Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who spoke at a plenary session, ura.news reports.
“Restore Orthodoxy in full, wherever churches should be in place. And there must be autocracy. A czar. An emperor. These elected presidents are nonsense. President – what does it mean anyway? Are we America or France?” Zhirinovsky declared, speaking in the State Duma.
In 2014, Zhirinovsky proposed that Ukraine be divided between its neighboring states.
In December 2021, Zhirinovsky called on Russia to begin bombing Ukraine on the night of December 30, 2021, up to January 1, 2022. A few days earlier, ROC Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev) congratulated Zhirinovsky. Addressing Zhirinovsky, the head of the ROC Kirill said he appreciated his contribution to Russia’s political life.
On March 22, 2018, a gay journalist with the Segodnya TV outlet, Renat Davletgildeyev, published a post claiming he had been harassed by Vladimir Zhirinovsky.
Meanwhile, the Moscow Patriarchate sees nothing sinful in Zhirinovsky’s statements and therefore continues to praise the leader of the left-wing radicals of the Liberal Democratic Party and in particular his “contribution to political life.”
