Liberal Democratic Party of Russia

The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (Russian: Либерально-Демократическая Партия России, Liberal'no-Demokraticheskaya Partiya Rossii) (or LDPR) is a political party in Russia. It has been led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky almost since its founding, in 1989, as the Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union. The LDPR describes itself as a centrist, pro-reform democratic party; however, it is often regarded, especially in the foreign media, as an ultranationalist party . The LDPR states that its main political opponents are Yabloko and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF). It describes itself as an opposition party however its deputies hardly ever voted against the Putin government. It received a plurality of the vote in the 1993 Russian Duma elections. In the early 1990s, the party was accused of receiving funding from Russian President Boris Yeltsin's administration. Same accusations were made about its current relationship with the Putin government.