History Literature / ZhirinovskysRussianEmpire

* AcceptableTargets: In-Universe, western media treats Zhirinovsky and Russia in general as one. For example, the Simpsons episode "You Only Move Twice" features him as an associate of Hank Scorpio. Zavidiya, however, blames American media for much of the tension between Russia and America by demonizing Russia as a whole.

* ILoveNuclearPower: With oil prices fluctuating due to actions of the UIS, Bush proposes building more nuclear power. In-universe, it is seen as a terrible idea by some Democrats, and makes nuclear power plants a target for Al-Qaeda.

In RealLife, perennial Russian presidential candidate Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky was an eccentric who is as famous for his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGQcib6aW_A bizarre political advertisements]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbifHevHekE orange juice fights]] as he is for his extreme ultranationalist views. He's widely viewed as harmless because of his utter unelectability, and is often seen as something of a rodeo clown for the Kremlin: a political performer used to draw off votes from more competent would-be demagogues.

* PostSovietReunion: The timeline's eponymous RealLife eccentric, nationalist politician become President of Russia and later the whole post-Soviet Union after a cascade of events including Yeltsin's assassination during the 1991 coup attempt, and remain in power until he is overthrown by a popular revolution in 2003. The Soviet Union (minus the Baltic republics) is not dissolved but turned into a [[ANaziByAnyOtherName fascist-esque]] federation known as the Union of Independent States, that launches or gets involved in wars in the dissolving Yugoslavia, Romania, Estonia, Afghanistan and Pakistan besides doing its best to discourage its member republics from breaking away.

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: Lots and lots of examples. One of them is in Afghanistan, where the UIS and its Afghan allies separate the Pashtuns from the pro-UIS and Northern Alliance Uzbeks and Tajiks for (allegedly) supporting the Taliban, and then pack them up on old shipping containers while the Michael Jackson song "We Are The World" blares on. And when they open the container, they just shoot the men inside, to the horror of a US Navy SEAL "invited" there as witness.

* LifeImitatesArt: [[https://twitter.com/AlexandruC4/status/1512859698428624912 After the Russians invaded Ukraine in 2022, Vladimir Putin offered Poland a chunk of Ukraine]], [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/zhirinovskys-russian-empire.245924/page-13#post-6568994 imitating the scene where Zhirinovsky offers Germany Poland]].

In RealLife, perennial Russian presidential candidate Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky is an eccentric who is as famous for his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGQcib6aW_A bizarre political advertisements]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbifHevHekE orange juice fights]] as he is for his extreme ultranationalist views. He's widely viewed as harmless because of his utter unelectability, and is often seen as something of a rodeo clown for the Kremlin: a political performer used to draw off votes from more competent would-be demagogues.

AWorldHalfFull: [[CrapsackWorld Despite the horrific state of the world,]] there are few silver linings: Dubai, Iran, Liberia, Bahrain and other Middle Eastern nations become democratic, with Iran rebuilding diplomatic ties with the US. Tajikstan is able to build its independence, and the Taliban is destroyed. Kaliningrad, renamed Konigsberg, is able to build a successful market economy, and Russians in other UIS nations have obtained a high standard of living. Many people, including Zhirinovsky, are put on trial for war crimes. Immigration reform passes in the US, though not without reaction by right-wing politicans. And South American cuisine has become popular all across Russia.

* CrapsackWorld
** WorldHalfFull: Despite the horrific state of the World, there are few silver linings: Dubai, Iran, Liberia, Bahrain and other Middle Eastern nations become democratic, with Iran rebuilding diplomatic ties with the US. Tajikstan is able to build its independence, and the Taliban is destroyed. Kaliningrad, renamed Konigsberg, is able to build a successful market economy, and Russians in other UIS nations have obtained a high standard of living. Many people, including Zhirinovsky, are put on trial for war crimes. Immigration reform passes in the US, though not without reaction by right-wing politicans. And South American cuisine has become popular all across Russia.

* WhamEpisode: The latest writing revealed that [[spoiler:Dominica (as in the English-speaking Commonwealth Caribbean state) has been taken over by 30,000 [=UIS=] expats taking advantage of the island's lax citizenship policy and rigged the elections to their favor. It seems that it was an attempt for pro-Zhirinovsky loyalists to use Dominica as a hiding ground in the same way the Nazis used Argentina as a haven.]]

* NeverLiveItDown:
** In-universe, Bush 43 is ridiculed for calling the UIS a "[[{{Malaproper}} piranha state]]".
** Zhirinovsky will be remembered as much for punching Tony Blair as he will be for his genocide against the Chechens.
** Bob Kerrey for the Thanh Phong massacre. Zhirinovsky never misses an opportunity to call Kerrey a baby killer.

* GodwinsLaw: In one scene, a UIS diplomat accuses his Estonian counterparts of being Nazis. Funnily enough, a year after that scene was posted, the Russians tenuously accused pro-democracy activists in Ukraine of being Neo-Nazis.

* LifeImitatesArt: In one scene, a UIS diplomat comically accuses his Estonian counterparts of being Nazis. A year after the scene was written, the Russians in real life accused Ukrainian protesters of being Neo-Nazis when they rose up against their government.

--> '''Andrei Zavidiya''': "Why did you send that letter to the Germans?! Not only do we sound like Nazis, we sound like retarded Nazis!

* CassandraTruth: Michigan Governor John Engler is aware of the threat of Islamic terrorism, and castigates Bush for not doing more to stop it. Before the attack, he is disliked as a maverick in the Republican Party, especially for supporting [[spoiler: the nationalization of GM after is goes bankrupt]], and his criticism of Bush hurts him even more. Then 9/11 does happen (the same day he is on a talk show, where he is ''advocating'' for a reponse to Al-Qaeda), and Bush completely screws up the response. He is quickly labeled the "American Churchill", and wins the Presidency in 2004.

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: Lots and lots of examples. One of them is in Afghanistan, where the UIS and its Afghan allies separate the Pashtuns from the pro-UIS and Northern Alliance Uzbeks and Tajiks for (allegedly) supporting the Taliban, and then pack them up on old shipping containers while Michael Jackson's song ''We Are The World'' blares on. And when they open the container, they just shoot the men inside, to the horror of a US Navy SEAL "invited" there as witness.

* DarkestHour: [[spoiler: June 1997 is the closest thing in this timeline: the world is on the brink of nuclear war, Grozny is destroyed, with hundreds of thousands slaughtered, the world economy is in free fall, law and order has broken down across the US, and [[MurderArsonAndJaywalking the NBA Championship has been canceled]]. It is a relief when the Milosevic sues for peace]].

** The response to 9/11 in-universe, and PlayedForDrama. When a plane crashes into the Duma, the president ignores John Engler's demands to ground air traffic, since the UIS airline is in such disrepair, the crash could have been accidental. When the first plane hits the World Trade Center, Bush ''still'' doesn't ground air traffic, allowing three more planes to hit the second tower, The Pentagon, and a [[OhCrap nuclear plant in Ohio]]. Michael Brown, FEMA's head announces that a meltdown was imminent, causing a panic that jammed up the state of Ohio. 1000 people were killed what becomes known as The Jam, a meltdown didn't even occur and FEMA didn't arrive until ''ten days later'' while members of the ''California'' high patrol arrived to help the people of Ohio the very next day. Needless to say, Bush nearly faces impeachment, and is not renominated for president in 2004 by the Republican party.

* HilariousInHindsight: In one scene,a UIS diplomat accuses his Estonian counterparts of being Nazis. A year after the scene was written, the Russians in real life accused Ukrainian protesters of being Neo-Nazis.

* PuppetState: The UIS has a couple. The most important is the Hungarian Republic of Szeklerland which connects the Serbian UIS republics with the rest of the UIS. The latest writing revealed that [[spoiler:Dominica (as in the English-speaking Commonwealth Caribbean state) has been taken over by 30,000 [=UIS=] expats taking advantage of the island's lax citizenship policy and rigged the elections to their favor.]]

** The whole reason John Engler became President. After being subjected to some nasty attacks by Karl Rove during the 2000 election, Engler became highly critical of Dubya. When Bush destroys his reputation less than a year into his presidency, Engler becomes revered by the Republican Party base, who reject Bush in 2004 and choose Engler.

* PuppetState: The UIS has a couple. The most important is the Hungarian Republic of Szeklerland which connects the Serbian UIS republics with the rest of the UIS. The latest writing revealed that [[Dominica (as in the English-speaking Commonwealth Caribbean state) has been taken over by 30,000 [=UIS=] expats taking advantage of the island's lax citizenship policy and rigged the elections to their favor.]]