ABSTRACT
Why are two of the four parties that cleared the five per cent barrier for proportional representation in the Russian State Duma in the 1995 elections - and which together control more than half of the Duma's 450 seats - led by men who are well-known public advocates of conspiracy theories forecasting Russia's imminent destruction? Gennadii Zyuganov, the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), argues that the Western liberal 'New World Order' aims to standardize human social life to such an extent that 'the distinctiveness of nations and cultures, their spiritual, historical, and religious character, have become threatened with complete annihilation'.1 Vladimir Zhirinovskii, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), argues that the true threat to Russia
Stephen E. Hanson is assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Washington, specializing in Soviet, Russian and comparative politics. He is the author of Time and Revolution: Marxism and the Design of Soviet Institutions (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1997). He wishes to thank Arista Cirtautas and Jeff Kopstein for their helpful comments on and criticisms of earlier drafts of this essay, and Emily Sanders for research assistance.
