MOSCOW, February 4 (RIA Novosti) - The leader of a
Russian ultranationalist party demanded on Wednesday the
removal of refrigerators containing Coca-Cola advertising from
the country's parliament.
"The advertising of foreign companies is inadmissible in
the building of a supreme national political authority," LDPR
party leader and Russian deputy lower house speaker Vladimir
Zhirinovsky said in a letter published on the party's website.
"Refrigerators with Coca-Cola advertising are installed in
the State Duma ... Maybe we should open a McDonalds outlet
instead of the State Duma canteen?" he added.
Coca-Cola leases its equipment on the condition that its
adverts are not removed.
"We are ready to install similar fridges with a LDPR
logo," the letter said.
Zhirinovsky caused international alarm when his LDPR party
came first in Russia's 1993 parliamentary elections on the back
of a confrontational and fiercely nationalist campaign.
Although his party's share of the votes has gone down since
then, it is still the third largest in the State Duma.
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