Here’s one of the photos I took of him in Yakutsk:

I was close enough to poke him with a stick.

Tyson was pretty clearly annoyed–at the end of hte program, they gave him some type of “special pigeon” that apparently only appears in Russia (it looked kind of like a dove), and he tried to explain to the entire audience that he couldn’t possibly get that thing home through customs–and I don’t know what he translator said in his earpiece, but his reply was, “this is not a dog. it’s a pigeon.”

They translated that, “it’s already full grown.”

Just an aside, I continue to be mystified at the level of incomptenence they manage to find in translators in Russia, for all the bright and competent people there are out there…

So if that wasn’t enough for poor Mike, out comes Zhirinovsky wearing a boxing robe and gloves. He comes right up to Tyson, pretends to hit him, and says, “Hello, I’m Zhirinovsky.”

He goes on to say extend his promised offer of Russian citizenship for Tyson, because, “after all, the US his half under water right now.”
To my surprise, the audience laughed their heads off. I was pretty pissed off–so many people are dead in New Orleans and everybody thought that was very funny.

I’m sick to death of Zh–he went from being a fringe figure a few years ago to being a star of the Russian talk show circuit. Though I understand his entertainment value to a certain extent, I just can’t believe he still gets as many appearances as he does.

One of my coolest experiences in Russia was going to a Zhirinovsky rally. My host, a correspondent for ITAR-TASS, told the police I was a foreign photojournalist, so I got to go right up front. I have a ton of pictures of Zhirinovsky. Even snagged an LDPR membership card.