Plots, Plots & More Plots

By JOHN KOHAN VLADIMIR ZHIRINOVSKY

The idea first came up at a Moscow lunch: What if an American correspondent were to accompany Russia's most flamboyant political firebrand on his very first visit to the U.S.? The proposal seemed intriguing, since it came from the Liberal Democratic Party, which normally views Western journalists as foreign agents. My contact stressed that Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the party's leader, had approved the idea.

The assurance was comforting, until I phoned his son to make arrangements. The younger Zhirinovsky's sullen tone made me suspect that I was not a welcome addition to the group -- an impression that was strengthened when I arrived at Moscow's airport and was informed that the Zhirinovsky party had bought out all the tickets in first class.

Self-contradiction has been a Zhirinovsky trademark ever since he first surfed to notoriety atop a self-generated wave of incendiary rhetoric and cloddish antics in 1991. Most politicians build their public personalities upon the bedrock of consistency; Zhirinovsky prefers to confect his views from the moods and passions of his audience. He has a talent for timing the rhythm of his harangues to the emotional heartbeats of those around him. How, then, would the man who may become Russia's next President tailor his message to America, a country that is a catch basin of his harshest invective?

On the plane to New York, it swiftly became obvious that this was not the rowdy Zhirinovsky of past foreign forays. The Liberal Democratic Party leader who has gadded about with ex-Nazi storm troopers and nubile nightclub strippers was the soul of propriety. As he stood waiting to disembark, surrounded by the latest members of his ever-shifting constellation of advisers, bodyguards and hangers-on, his pale blue eyes betrayed the hollow disorientation of an actor between scripts who suddenly finds himself at a loss for words.

No sooner had Zhirinovsky set foot on U.S. soil than all indecision vanished. The purpose of his visit was nothing less than a complete revamping of his aggressive anti-Western image. He announced that he was "no ! nationalist" and wanted "to be a friend and not an enemy." Listening to the warm message, I found it hard to believe that only a few days before in Moscow, he had been lambasting the U.S. for an alleged plot to destroy Russia, aided by Israel. How had this peddler of intolerance metamorphosed so smoothly into a mild-mannered missionary of goodwill?

There were more surprises to come when Zhirinovsky met journalists at the Sheraton Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Such encounters rarely fail to provoke him to crude histrionics. This time, however, he kept himself tightly under control. Amid a barrage of hostile questions, his face expressed only earnest deliberation. His fists, normally clenched and waving, relaxed and retreated to his sides. Throughout the day, the Liberal Democratic Party leader politely dodged questions about his past excesses. He was not an anti-Semite, he protested. He was not a fascist. Such demurrals amounted to a display of astonishing incongruity for a sensation lover who has spent the past three years seeking out and embracing controversy. How long would it take for him to slip back to true form?

The next day Zhirinovsky flew to New York City, where he met TIME editors for a 90-minute interview. While his style retained its hastily applied polish, the words had already returned to the same discordant echoes of Zionist conspiracies and Western plots that punctuate his Moscow street rallies. So much for the makeover.

TIME: If you became President, what kind of relationship would you want with the U.S.?

Zhirinovsky: I think we should divide ((the world up)) into spheres of influence. We should not collide against each other in areas like the Balkans or Central Asia. It is better for us to remain separate. For the good of mankind, there should be four centers of power in the world -- the United States, Europe, Russia, and China and Japan.

TIME: What about Latin America and Africa?

Zhirinovsky: There would be a North-South axis -- the Latin Americans with America, Africa with the Europeans, the Russians, with their southern neighbors, China with Southeast Asia. We cannot have just one center of power. That's why America is provoking enemies for itself around the world.

TIME: Do you see America as a permanent enemy of Russia?

Zhirinovsky: I wouldn't say that America is an enemy in the literal sense of the word. There are no straightforward military actions. ((But)) a secret war has been going on for 50 years now . . . If your aim was to bring Russia to collapse, ((perestroika)) was perfectly executed because you could have done nothing better to destroy Russia.

TIME: Why did the Russian ruble drop so dramatically in value last month?

Zhirinovsky: This was the beginning of a scenario. As a result of the financial debacle, Prime Minister Vladimir Chernomyrdin was to resign and Vladimir Shumeiko (Chairman of the upper house of the Russian parliament), who has better relations with certain circles in the West, was to come to power. The next step was to launch an attack against the Army and provoke unrest. The final stage was supposed to be the establishment of a liberal dictatorship next spring.

TIME: Who was directing this scenario?

Zhirinovsky: According to our information, the CIA and Mossad were involved. They want to keep Russia the way it is today, because this is good for the West.

TIME: What about President Yeltsin?

Zhirinovsky: No, he actually prevented it. He realized that when Chernomyrdin left, he would be next. Yeltsin knows that Russia is now at a dead end, so they decided to oust him.

TIME: You speak a lot about the Americans and Zionists. Do you equate America with Zionism?

Zhirinovsky: They are separate forces but they join together, because America gives strong support to Israel and within America itself, the influence of the Jews is very strong. It's well known that finance and the press in America -- and also in Western Europe and Russia -- are controlled by Jews.

TIME: Why is that harmful for Russia?

Zhirinovsky: The very difficult economic situation in Russia was the result of activities by these forces. There is no such thing as a poor Jew in Russia . . . while the poorest people in Russia are the Russians.

TIME: You have been quoted as saying that the Jewish people caused a lot of trouble for Russia. What do you mean?

Zhirinovsky: This is nothing original to me. I am just passing on propaganda. ((But)) the fact is that a majority of people who made the ((Bolshevik)) Revolution possible, as well as perestroika, were of Jewish origin. In fact, the first Soviet government was almost 90% Jewish. Those who first ran the Gulag prison camps were mostly Jewish, although they were later wiped out by Stalin, because they were Jews.

TIME: You seem to be saying that a Jewish Russian cannot be a good Russian.

Zhirinovsky: No, this is possible. I'm just trying to explain certain attitudes in Russian society. If you look at the main theaters in Moscow, a majority of the directors are people of Jewish origin . . .

TIME: So what, if they are talented?

Zhirinovsky: Yes, I quite agree with you. I'm just stating a common point of view in Russia. Certain anti-Semitic sentiments have been created, because there are people occupying ((prominent positions)) who are living much better under the present conditions in Russia.

TIME: Do you think there will be a coup before the elections in 1996?

Zhirinovsky: ((Those who are now in power)) are afraid of elections. A part of these democratic forces realize they would lose and are trying to introduce a state of emergency and postpone elections for 10 years or so. There is a great possibility of a military coup in the next six months, and again, the Jews will have a say in it. One of the candidates for the head of the military regime is General Boris Gromov, a hero of the war in Afghanistan. His second wife is Jewish. When his first wife, who was Russian, died, this woman was brought to his attention through certain ((Jewish)) circles.

TIME: It's impossible to listen to you without hearing continual allegations of a Jewish conspiracy.

Zhirinovsky: If we were talking about historical events dated some 50 years ago, I would have my doubts. But this is what is happening in Moscow before my very own eyes. You are far away and have a different civilization. It was always difficult for an outsider to understand what is going in Russia in the right way.