Zhirinovsky Can Seek Presidency, Court Says

Ultranationalist lawmaker Vladimir V. Zhirinovsky, whose truculent statements and unrestrained antics have both appalled and attracted voters, won a Supreme Court order allowing him to register as a candidate in the March 26 presidential election. Zhirinovsky was among the first Russian politicians to announce presidential aspirations after Boris N. Yeltsin resigned Dec. 31 and named Vladimir V. Putin acting president. But the Central Election Commission rejected his candidacy last month, saying his financial declaration was invalid because it failed to include an apartment owned by his son. The Supreme Court had earlier rejected Zhirinovsky’s appeal, but its Board of Appeal ruled that the ban was unlawful. His candidacy expands the election field to 12.