Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
                      Freedom. LDPR. Law

Founded: March 31, 1990
Leader: Igor Lebedev

Membership: According to the party's data, 500,000 members in 85 regional, 187 area, 1,700 district and city, and 7,000 primary party organizations.
(According to official data, 19,098 members in 55 regional branches).
Nearly half of the LDPR members are young people aged from 16 to 29.
Media: Bi-Weekly party newspaper

Address: 9 Lukov Pereulok
               Moscow 103054
Telephone: +7 (095) 925 07 15; Press service +7 (095) 292 18 30
Email: ldpr@satel.ru , pressldpr@list.ru
Website: http://www.ldpr.ru

Major Party Figures
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Chairman of the Supreme Council
Stanislav Zhebrovsky, Press secretary
Igor Lebedev, Duma deputy, LDPR Faction leader

List of Party Duma Deputies

Party History

In May 1988 Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky took part in the constituent congress of the Democratic Union party. Later, he put together a project that included the program of the Social-democratic party (SDP) and spread it among the activists of informal groups.

In the spring of 1989, together with S.V. Bogachiov, who diverged from the Democratic party, Zhirinovsky created the initiative group of the Liberal-Democratic party.

On December 13, 1989, during the organizational meeting of the Liberal-Democratic party, Zhirinovsky was elected Chairman and Bogachiov became main coordinator of the party.

LDP was created when the Soviet Union still existed. Therefore, starting on the first constituent congress which was held on May 31, 1990, the party was referred to as Liberal-democratic party of Soviet Union (LDPSU).

One of the tasks of the LDP program was to establish connections with the international liberal movement, which was founded in 1947. Soon after the 1st congress, LDP joined an international group of Liberal-Democratic parties and, Zhirinovsky, took part in its next congress, which took place in October of 1990 in Finland.

The Liberal-Democratic party grew quickly from 3,000 members in 1990 to 15,000 members. Regional organizations formed fast and were established not only in Russian Federation, but also in other republics of the Soviet Union.

Party Objectives and Program

Program
Adopted at the 13th extraordinary transforming congress on December 13, 2001.

State policy:
- to transform the Russian Federation from the federative into the unitarian model of state structure without any national republics and national areas as subjects of the state;
- to introduce a single national language - the language of the country's population majority, i. e. the Russian language;
- to reform and consolidate Russia's judicial system;
- to toughen penalty for terrorism, premeditated murders and other crimes committed against a personality and a property, to restitute capital punishment for especially dangerous criminals;
- to abolish non-traditional and fanatic sects in Russia.

National security:
- to enforce Russian power bloc, and to form a powerful body of state security with a broad spectrum of authorities;
- to create the most favorable international background for economic and political development of the state, for the growth of people's welfare, and for the national and spiritual revival of the Russian people, of all peoples of Russia;
- to ensure the country's national security and international stability, to preserve peace in the world;
- to re-create on a voluntary basis the Russian state within its original borders, and, primarily, to reunite with Belarus, Ukraine and some other republics of the former Soviet Union.

Economic program:

- to enhance the functions of state control and management of economic processes;
- to provide a state support for science-intensive technologies and agriculture;
- to fight against corruption;
- to restore Russia's economic sovereignty.

Social policy:
- to support social demands of workers servicemen;
- to raise and pay out in time wages, stipendiums, pensions and allowances;
- to conduct state program of employment, to re-train the workers released, to create jobs in small business and in the sphere of services;
- to radically reform the system of social insurance;
- to form mass middle class.

Objectives
In order to restore normal life in Russia, the LDPR deems it necessary:

- to radically strengthen executive and legislative authority and the power structures (law-enforcement agencies and security bodies)

- to give an opportunity to everyone who wants to work and is capable of working to bring his talents into play and get worthy pay for good work

-to immediately stop price rises; to implement the housing reform with the parallel reduction in tariffs for utility services

- to annul the payment of the rent by the pensioners, and to give free housing to young families.

-Land must belong to those who till it. Farm lands must be used only for efficient production of farm produce. The state should retain control over farm lands.

-Russia’s mineral resources must belong to the whole people, not the oligarchs. To introduce state monopoly on foreign trade in mineral resources and all strategic goods.

-The country’s food security is an inalienable right of every citizen. Domestically produced foodstuffs must prevail on the shop counters in this country. Russia’s state structure must be changed radically.

-The country’s division along ethnic lines should be replaced by its territorial division; the governors and mayors should be appointed. The parliament’s upper chamber (the Federation Council) should be abolished, and the number of State Duma deputies reduced to 300; the notion of the deputy’s responsibility for idleness, inefficiency and neglect of direct contacts with the electorate should be introduced.

-The tax system must stimulate production in Russia, serve the domestic producer’s interests and help attract investments.

-It is necessary to bring political will into foreign policy. Foreign policy must meet Russia’s national interests.

-A clear-cut state programme of the production and sale of military hardware and weapons must be worked out.

-An all-round economic amnesty must be declared; provided they did not hold top government posts, citizens who will transfer their deposits from western banks to Russian ones will be released from criminal liability. Bank deposits must be guaranteed by the state. It will make it possible to reject crippling foreign loans and credits.

-The state must restore its alcohol, tobacco and sugar monopoly.

-The state must support scientific progress, the development of high technologies and research towns. The state must support the development of education and the right to receive free education, including higher education. Only those wanting to take a refresher course or get a second education must pay for it. Free medical care should be given to all those who need it.

-The Russia-Belarus Union should become a full-fledged state structure. Peaceful unification with the Ukraine and other territories seeking to join Russia and the formation of a single integral state should be the closest historical perspective.

last updated September 1, 2005