Plots, Plots & More Plots

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The next day Zhirinovsky flew to New York City, where he met TIME editors for a 90-minute interview. While his style retained its hastily applied polish, the words had already returned to the same discordant echoes of Zionist conspiracies and Western plots that punctuate his Moscow street rallies. So much for the makeover.

TIME: If you became President, what kind of relationship would you want with the U.S.?

Zhirinovsky: I think we should divide ((the world up)) into spheres of influence. We should not collide against each other in areas like the Balkans or Central Asia. It is better for us to remain separate. For the good of mankind, there should be four centers of power in the world -- the United States, Europe, Russia, and China and Japan.

TIME: What about Latin America and Africa?

Zhirinovsky: There would be a North-South axis -- the Latin Americans with America, Africa with the Europeans, the Russians, with their southern neighbors, China with Southeast Asia. We cannot have just one center of power. That's why America is provoking enemies for itself around the world.

TIME: Do you see America as a permanent enemy of Russia?

Zhirinovsky: I wouldn't say that America is an enemy in the literal sense of the word. There are no straightforward military actions. ((But)) a secret war has been going on for 50 years now . . . If your aim was to bring Russia to collapse, ((perestroika)) was perfectly executed because you could have done nothing better to destroy Russia.

TIME: Why did the Russian ruble drop so dramatically in value last month?

Zhirinovsky: This was the beginning of a scenario. As a result of the financial debacle, Prime Minister Vladimir Chernomyrdin was to resign and Vladimir Shumeiko (Chairman of the upper house of the Russian parliament), who has better relations with certain circles in the West, was to come to power. The next step was to launch an attack against the Army and provoke unrest. The final stage was supposed to be the establishment of a liberal dictatorship next spring.

TIME: Who was directing this scenario?

Zhirinovsky: According to our information, the CIA and Mossad were involved. They want to keep Russia the way it is today, because this is good for the West.

TIME: What about President Yeltsin?

Zhirinovsky: No, he actually prevented it. He realized that when Chernomyrdin left, he would be next. Yeltsin knows that Russia is now at a dead end, so they decided to oust him.

TIME: You speak a lot about the Americans and Zionists. Do you equate America with Zionism?

Zhirinovsky: They are separate forces but they join together, because America gives strong support to Israel and within America itself, the influence of the Jews is very strong. It's well known that finance and the press in America -- and also in Western Europe and Russia -- are controlled by Jews.

TIME: Why is that harmful for Russia?

Zhirinovsky: The very difficult economic situation in Russia was the result of activities by these forces. There is no such thing as a poor Jew in Russia . . . while the poorest people in Russia are the Russians.

TIME: You have been quoted as saying that the Jewish people caused a lot of trouble for Russia. What do you mean?