Oleg Malyshkin

Who is Oleg Malyshkin?

Oleg Alexandrovich Malyshkin is a Russian politician and member of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. He was a member of the State Duma of Russia between 2003 and 2007, and stood for President in the Russian presidential election, 2004.

Born on April 7, 1951 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Malyshkin graduated from the Polytechnic Institute in Novocherkassk as a mining engineer. He was a professional boxer and soccer player. As soccer defender he competed for Torpedo Taganrog, Uralan and some clubs from Rostov-on-Don mainly in Soviet Second League.

He entered politics in 1991 as a member of Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and working in the party offices in Moscow. In 1997, he won election as head of the Tatsinsky District in Rostov Oblast and served until 2001. He governed the district in an authoritarian, statist manner, introducing strict price controls for food and visiting the grain elevator accompanied by armed guards in order to resolve a dispute between the enterprise and his administration.

In 2001, Malyshkin returned to Moscow and resumed his post in the LDPR's head office, becoming Chief of Staff to Vladimir Zhirinovsky's security and being nominated as Vice Chairman of the party.