One of Russia's most prominent MPs, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, has died at the age of 75, the Speaker of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, has said. The legislators honoured his memory with a minute of silence.
Zhirinovsky was born in Kazakhstan in 1946, and received several degrees, graduating in the Turkish language and Law from Moscow State University.
After a prolific career, including spells in the Ministry of Justice and the Soviet Peace Committee, Zhirinovsky turned to politics, founding the Liberal Democratic Party in 1990. Over the decades, his party was a major force in the Russian parliament, and Zhirinovsky served as Deputy Speaker. He also ran for president a number of times - in 1996, 2000, 2008, 2011, and 2018.
Zhirinovsky was known as a charismatic politician who never refrained form using hardball rhetoric, always raising his voice to protect Russian people and defend national interests.