Vladimir Zhirinovsky's donkey video

On 6 February 2012, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the former far-right populist[1] leader of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, released a 30-second election video on the Internet that featured him on a sleigh which was harnessed with a black donkey.

The video was named "Troika" at the official site of the LDPR,[2] but was distributed on YouTube under the title: "Zhirinovsky beats donkey!".

[5] The video became a subject of wide discussion in the Runet and the Russian media,[3] including presidential TV debates[5] and comedy shows involving Zhirinovsky.

[8][9][10] Its ideology is based primarily on Zhirinovsky's ideas of "imperial reconquest" (a "renewed Russian Empire")[11] and authoritarian vision of a 'Greater Russia.

'"[10][12] Zhirinovsky was "often viewed as something of a clown" and "a showman of Russian politics, blending populist and nationalist rhetoric, anti-Western invective and a brash, confrontational style".

[5][17] Zhirinovsky stated during a televised election debate with Gennady Zyuganov, another presidential candidate, that the animal seen in the video is called Proshka.

[19] Later Zhirinovsky confirmed the donkey's name as "Proshka, Prokhor" when he participated as a guest in the comedy talk show Prozhektorperiskhilton on Channel One TV.

In the same Prozhektorperiskhilton show, Zhirinovsky also said that he once owned a male sheep called "Ben", which was named after the initials of Russian politician, Boris Efimovich Nemtsov, another political opponent.

Zhirinovsky responded to criticism, saying that similar treatment is commonplace in the Arab world, and that in fact, the animal has been treated "better than many people".