Vladimir Zhirinovsky: Clown or Hitler?

Zip Dobyns

Zhirinovsky’s data comes from his autobiography via an astrologer in Europe and Lois Rodden. He wrote that he was born on April 25, 1946 in Alma-Ata, U.S.S.R., after 10 P.M. Lois suggests that 10:30 P.M. would be a possible birth time since it would bring his P Ascendant to the opposition to Pluto for the recent Parliamentary elections which gave Zhirinovsky’s Party about 25% of the vote. I get different results using the system which I prefer for progressing the angles. I add the solar arc to the MC and then calculate the rest of the angles from that P MC. An alternate system, which I assume Lois is using, calculates the chart angles using the original birth time and the sidereal time on the date to which the chart has been progressed; one day after birth for each year of life. The two different calculation techniques can get angle positions which vary from each other as much as three degrees or more. As usual in astrology, when there are conflicting techniques or theories, each astrologer has to experiment to see which works best for him or her.

Using my system, a birth time of 10:15 P.M. brings the P Ascendant to the opposition to Mars for Zhirinovsky’s rise to power. Both possible times produce an Ascendant in Sagittarius and put the Libra stellium in the 9th and 10th houses. The chart is strongly air and fire, showing a highly verbal individual who may be persuasive as a salesman or demagogue. Zhirinovsky also has the paranoia potential with two forms of letter one in the houses of partners or open enemies. Saturn, ruling the Capricorn in the first house, is in the seventh house. Mars, natural ruler of the first house, is in the eighth house. When the chart is calculated for Moscow, the Ascendant is shifted to Scorpio so Pluto is added as a first house ruler, and it is also in the eighth house in the birthplace chart. Putting keys to personal power in the houses of long-term peer relationships can lead to giving in, running away, or many power struggles if we fail to learn to cooperate, to help other people, and to keep our competition “healthy” by remembering that it is a game, not turning it into a life and death issue.

If this birth time is close to accurate for Zhirinovsky, Mars is also trioctile the Ascendant which adds to the likelihood of self-blocking and/or power struggles with others. Mars and Pluto also square the Sun and oppose Ceres and the Antivertex to form a fixed T-square which the Moscow Ascendant fills in to make a grand cross. Yet, the air emphasis is so strong, Zhirinovsky might be mostly hot air; lots of fierce rhetoric but not much ability to produce. When you read his grandiose promises to the Russian people which brought him to prominence and power, it is obvious that his chances of making good on the promises are virtually non-existent. But it is easy to see how the Russians, trapped in a terrifying slide into poverty and crime, could vote for anyone who promised confidently that he would make things better.

Thanks to a subscriber in New York, I have a copy of the June 19, 1994 issue of the New York Times Magazine which has an excellent article on Zhirinovsky by Michael Specter. If I were in Moscow without much knowledge of the rest of the world, watching the economy die and criminals take over the country, I think I would have been moved by some of Zhirinovsky’s claims.

“I know you’re sick of politicians. I know you are tired of the promises and the lies. Many of you didn’t bother to vote. Why would you? Well, I’m not going to make you wait 10 or 20 years to buy a decent chicken. You support me and you will get results. They will be fast, they will be direct and they will be yours.”

“One million wealthy and 150 million in chains. That is what Boris has brought you. They tried to apply Marx to us and that failed. Now they are applying Boris. How is that making you feel? OK. We have tried it their way. Now try it mine. Give me a chance. That is all I ask. Can I do it worse than they have? Can you honestly believe that I would do it worse?”

The words are persuasive. Unfortunately, Zhirinovsky can’t deliver what he promises but he can turn his angry and fearful fellow Russians against a variety of scapegoats: Jews, other countries which were once Republics in the U.S.S.R., westerners in general, and especially America. He promises to return Russia to its former greatness in appeals reminiscent of Milosevic, the Belgrade leader who helped to produce the terrible tragedy of Bosnia by fanning Serbian memories of ancient injustices. Specter’s parallel is that Zhirinovsky is a bit like a Russian mixture of George Wallace and Ross Perot. But Zhirinovsky is operating in a country which has never been a democracy and most of Russia’s military are included among his followers.

The air trines in Zhirinovsky’s chart fit his former profession as government attorney for 15 years. They also fit his glib promises of pie in the sky. If this 10:15 P.M. birth time is accurate, P Sun and the north lunar node form a grand trine to N Jupiter and P East Point. P Jupiter holds a long grand trine to N Moon and P Uranus and it also sextiles the N Ascendant. P Chiron and P Juno trine N Uranus. Other aspects supporting his recent increase in power include P Venus on P Saturn with both of them trine his name asteroid, P Vladimir. P MC (executive power and the law) is opposite N Venus (pleasure), putting Venus on the P fourth house cusp which symbolizes the homeland and the public who voted for Zhirinovsky. P Moon (the public and homeland) was conjunct P MC as the public gave him the power he wanted. P Moon was on P Vladimir and P Winchester and trine P Venus/P Saturn from October to mid-December 1993 as Zhirinovsky campaigned. P Mercury sextile N Sun reinforces his success in persuading his fellow citizens to support him. Yeltsin’s only “success” in the elections was the passage of the new Constitution which gives almost dictatorial powers to the President. But I put “success” in quotations because though Yeltsin wanted the passage, it really happened because Zhirinovsky told his followers to vote for it. Obviously, he hopes to become president in time and wants the increased power for himself.

Of course, there are also conflict aspects in Zhirinovsky’s chart including P Mars square Venus. P Mercury reached a square to P Neptune in February 1994 from a natal opposition. Conflict aspects between these two planets are classic keys to a vivid imagination which may be out of touch with reality. P Neptune holds a lifetime conjunction with the midpoint of Saturn/south lunar node, pointing to a major lesson involving faith, values, ethics, etc. P Mercury recently reached the square to Saturn/south node. P Pluto holds a long quincunx to N Vesta, and if the 10:15 P.M. birth time is accurate, it squares Zhirinovsky’s local (Moscow) Ascendant while P Vesta is quincunx his Moscow MC. Though there is often a sense of stress associated with the quincunx, it can also signal a positive change in one’s life; letting go past situations and moving in new, desired directions. Vesta is a major key to one’s work, so these aspects offer support for the 10:15 P.M. birth time. Work-related aspects which are less sensitive to the exact time of birth are Zhirinovsky’s P Saturn and P Venus trioctile N Vesta.

Several of the “newer” asteroids also support that time. It produces a Moscow MC of 27 Leo 14 which is conjunct Gaea, Rockefellia, ARA, and P America. Two of these asteroids were discovered by Russian astronomers and named in appreciation of U.S. aid by the American Relief Administration directed by Herbert Hoover in the famine of 1922-3. Rockefellia was named in honor of Rockefeller who created the Foundation which bears his name. Conspiracy buffs will remember the theory that it was help from wealthy individuals in the U.S. and western Europe, including the Rockefellers, which enabled Stalin to survive and keep his power. The military-industrial complex profited from having an “enemy” to justify military expenditures. Gaea was named for the earth, the first being to appear out of Chaos.

The combination of these four asteroids on Zhirinovsky’s Moscow MC can be interpreted in a variety of ways. He promises to lead his country out of chaos but his divisive demagoguery could easily create more, whether or not he achieves the presidency which is symbolized by the MC. He attacks America but the threat that he might gain more power in Russia is being used by more moderate leaders to try to persuade America and other countries to provide more help. While several countries in Europe experienced Herbert Hoover as a benefactor, his name means depression to U.S. citizens since he was President when we slid into the depression of the 1930s. There is no doubt that Russia is currently mired in a horrifying depression as their GNP continues to drop. The economic elite of the world meet annually in the Bilderberg Group, in a different country each year. Two years ago in France, they promoted the “shock therapy” which was to move Russia into a market economy but which has instead opened the door to wealth and power for both home-grown and international criminals. This year, the Bilderbergers met in Helsinki, Finland, and their main topic was the deterioration in Russia and fear that the misery could lead to an explosive anarchy.

Using this birth time, there are also four natal and two progressed asteroids on the Descendant. The natal ones are Hel (Norse goddess of death), Columbia (for the District where our capital is located but it can also work for the country which is the home of the cocaine drug cartels), Prudentia (prudence or in this case, the need for it), and Mason-Dixon (the line in 18th century U.S. which divided the slave-holding states from the states where slavery was not allowed). At the Descendant we meet parts of ourselves through our relationships with others, whether cooperative or competitive. The progressed asteroids include Themis (divine justice) and Amnestia (amnesty or the need for it).

All of these asteroids are relevant to Russia and to Zhirinovsky’s ambition. The government seems to be losing the war to control the alliance of Mafia, Colombian cartels, former KGB members, etc. Russian cities which used to be among the safest in the world, provided you were not a political dissident, are now among the most dangerous. As in some of the big cities of the U.S., ordinary citizens at night can feel like slaves confined to their own apartments as death walks the streets. Amnesty and prudence are desperately needed but Zhirinovsky’s rhetoric is pushing the country in the opposite direction.

Other asteroid aspects in Zhirinovsky’s chart include N Russia on his Sun/Moon midpoint with a quincunx to L MC. P Russia is conjunct P Laverna (goddess of thieves) in 12 Aries with both asteroids square P Pallas and trioctile L MC. N Recha in 6 Capricorn 45 is in a close square to Neptune. I am testing Recha as a key to tolerance, especially religious tolerance, and so far it seems to be working. Of course, an astrological factor symbolizes a principle, an issue, so Recha may show tolerance or a need for it. P Neptune holds a lifetime square to Recha since it will turn direct before it leaves the one-degree orb. P Recha is retrograding slowly in an opposition to N Karma and P Hephaistos (creator of weapons on Olympus). P Karma is conjunct P Venus. P Washingtonia is conjunct P Hephaistos so it is connected to the aspect to Recha as Zhirinovsky verbally attacks the U.S. and his chosen scapegoats. P Srbija (Serbia) is retrograding at 9 Capricorn 0 conjunct the 10:15 P.M. East Point, square the MC, and quincunx Pluto. Zhirinovsky has loudly supported Russia’s fellow Serbs who have been destroying Bosnia. P Pallas, which is often connected to politics and social justice issues, is retrograding over natal Srbija, and P L East Point reached a conjunction with it in the spring of 1994 if this birth time is accurate.

Still more asteroid-angle contacts include P L Ascendant conjunct N Williams and P Williams square N L MC (for challenges to Bill Clinton). P Helio (a sun god for fame and power) is conjunct L East Point as well as sextile P Pyotr Pervyj (Peter the Great), trine Mars, and quincunx Karma, P Washingtonia and P Hephaistos. N Winchester (guns) is rising in 19 Sagittarius 45 with a square to N Moskva (Moscow) in 19 Virgo 14. P south lunar node will reach a conjunction with Winchester within a few months—not a cheerful prospect. But perhaps the most dismaying feature is the lifetime conjunction of Zhirinovsky’s name asteroid, Vladimir, with Libitina, the Roman goddess of death. They were retrograding conjunct each other in 3 Sagittarius when he was born. They were still conjunct retrograding in 23 Scorpio when he came to power. By late 1994 to 1995, they will reach an octile to P Saturn/P south lunar node, starting a time of intensified personal lessons for Zhirinovsky and perhaps for the world. I don’t know when I have seen a chart with so many relevant asteroids. I have not even started to deal with the many asteroids named for the former U.S.S.R. Republics and their capital cities as well as the other countries of Europe. If sheer numbers of relevant asteroid aspects are a clue to individuals who influence the world, I suspect that Zhirinovsky will continue to play a major role in the drama of earth.

Copyright © 1994 Los Angeles Community Church of Religious Science, Inc.

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