Leadership Quote by Vladimir Zhirinovsky

A masterclass in selective indignation: Zhirinovsky frames himself as a principled defender of faith while quietly leaving the rest of the playing field wide open for coercion. The syntax is doing the political work. “The only thing I oppose” is a tiny fence around a single protected category, implying that everything outside that fence is negotiable, even fair game. It’s not a plea for tolerance; it’s a permission structure.

The choice of “persecuting” is deliberate. It invokes historic martyrdom and state brutality, pulling emotional weight from a word associated with pogroms and repression. But the object of concern is narrowly specified: Eastern Orthodox “priests and temples.” Not believers in general. Not religious freedom. Not pluralism. It’s institutional Orthodoxy, the clerical class and the physical symbols that anchor national identity. In Russia’s post-Soviet political ecosystem, Orthodoxy isn’t just a religion; it’s a flag. Protecting it reads as protecting “us.”

Contextually, Zhirinovsky thrived on calibrated outrage: saying the quiet part loudly, then wrapping it in a moral exception that makes him sound humane. The line functions as a loyalty signal to the Orthodox majority and to the church hierarchy, while also warning opponents: any crackdown is acceptable so long as it doesn’t touch the sacred brand. It’s a classic authoritarian bargain offered in a soft voice: order can be harsh, but it will respect the icons.