On May 27, Moscow hosted the XXXIV Extraordinary Congress of the LDPR, at which Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, was elected party leader. The extraordinary party congress was convened after the death of Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who had headed this political association since its formation in 1989.
After his election, according to Lenta.ru, Slutsky underlined that the LDPR's strategy will largely remain the same, although there will be modifications aimed at strengthening social policy.
According to Interfax, the day before, members of the LDPR Supreme Council voted overwhelmingly in favor of Leonid Slutsky, and recommended that delegates to the congress put his candidacy on the ballot. Proposals to nominate Slutsky were received by the LDPR Supreme Council from 76 regional branches. In addition, eight branches published such applications through various print media. As a reminder, the LDPR branches operate in all 85 of Russia's regions. As a result, the members of the Supreme Council voted unanimously for the only candidate on the ballot.
Notably, Alexander Sherin, a State Duma deputy, also ran for LDPR leader. However, only one vote was cast for his candidacy on the ballot. The media report that it might have been his own. However, 86 delegates voted against this decision.
The party's Telegram channel posted a video clearly documenting that after the vote, Sherin took his folder, lying on the table, and then left the room.
Back on May 20, it became known that Khabarovsk Territory Governor Mikhail Degtyarev recommended nominating Leonid Slutsky for the highest office in the party. According to Lenta.ru, the Governor of Khabarovsk Territory described Slutsky as a “guru” of both international politics and the ability to defend Russia's national interests abroad. However, Degtyarev made it clear that Slutsky will receive help from his fellow party members in party-building and propaganda.
Ilya Gerashchankov, Head of the Regional Policy Development Center, points out that the new LDPR leader will need to revamp the system of governance in this political alliance, since Zhirinovsky was the one who created this party for himself. However, he describes Slutsky as a charismatic individual. According to Gerashenkov, Slutsky isn't quite on Zhirinovsky's level. For this reason, the party's priority task will be to bring together such politicians who could replace the former leader of the LDPR to some degree, and collect the required number of votes throughout the country in elections, says Gerashenkov.