After writing my first few posts poking fun at «бабушки» [old ladies] and «ностальгировать» [feeling nostalgic] about my «советское детство» [Soviet childhood], I decided it was time to tackle some «серьёзные вопросы, вызывающие жаркую полемику» [serious issues that draw heated arguments].

 «Клонирование» [cloning] is a controversial subject. «Жаркие споры разгораются» [hot debates arise] around any mentions of animal cloning, let alone the still-hypothetical «клонирование людей» [human cloning].

 Another almost equally controversial subject is «клоуны» [clowns]. And to be honest, to some clowns appear to be more of an issue than cloning. After all, there is still no word to describe pathological fear of cloning. But coulrophobia is real (even though my spell check doesn’t recognize it).

 So I figure, if cloning is controversial and clowns are controversial AND scary, then clown cloning is sure to be one of the most contentious issues we are faced with. The only problem was to find material for my «пост о клонировании клоунов» [clown cloning post].

 Luckily, the opportunity presented itself right away in the form of a «короткая заметка» [short article] with a title «Жириновский хочет повторить судьбу овечки Долли» [Zhirinovsky Wants to Repeat the Fate of Dolly the Sheep].

 Let me tell you, this headline immediately grabbed my attention. I just couldn’t believe that Mr. V.V. Zhirinovksy, founder and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia,  (see full profile) wanted to be euthanized (see Dolly’s full profile).

 Turns out, the «повторение судьбы» [repeating the fate] referred more to the «Наследие» [Legacy] part of Dolly’s Wikipedia profile. «ВВЖ» [VVZh, the initials of Zhirinovsky’s name] is on a mission to repeal Russia’s ban on human cloning. He sees cloning as a way to «спасение человечества» [saving humankind]. More precisely, Zhirinovsky was quoted  saying that

 «Клонировать надо умных людей, талантливых, должна быть база данных клонированных людей. Мы должны иметь новых Эйнштейнов, Курчатовых, Циолковских, Есениных, Пушкиных.»

 [Smart, talented people ought to be cloned; there must be a database of human clones. We ought to have new Einsteins, Kurchatovs, Tziolkovskys, Yesenins, Pushkins]

 If anything, the intention seems noble (although «школьники будущего» [schoolchildren of the future] might object to memorizing any more poems by cloned «Есенины и Пушкины» [Yesenins and Pushkins].

 But to counterbalance all this «избыток гениальности» [abundance of genius] Zhirinovksy adds, «без лишней скромности» [without excessive modesty]

 «Я буду рад, если смогу клонировать самого себя, чтобы появился второй такой человек, как я. Это будет хорошо, это будет польза для нации.»

 [I will be happy if I can clone myself so that there is another person such as me. It will be good; it will be beneficial to the nation.]

 Of course, it comes from a genius who’s known for statements such as

 «Я сторонник реабилитации Кощея Бессмертного.» [I’m in favor of rehabilitating of Koshey the Immortal. Koshey the Immortal is an infamous evil warlock of Russian fairytales.]

  «Женщина должна сидеть дома, плакать, штопать и готовить.» [A woman must stay home crying, mending and cooking.]

 «Все хвалят ЛДПР и меня. Это и есть демократия.» [Everyone praises LDPR and me. That’s what’s called the democracy.]

 «От чего коровы с ума сходят? От британской демократии.» [Why cows go mad? Because of the British democracy.]

 «Не мне [не повезло с женщинами], а всему миру, всему человечеству!» [It’s not that I [had no luck with women], but the entire world, the entire mankind!]

 «Я думаю [с выборами Барака Обамы в президенты США], Америка может и из НАТО выйти.» [I’m thinking that [with Barak Obama’s election to the post of the President] the US might leave NATO…]

  And here’s the final one, about geniuses:

 «Пушкин несчастный был. Лучше бы его не было совсем.» [Pushkin was unhappy. It would’ve been better if he weren’t born.]

 And that brings the discussion back to the controversial idea itself – «клонирование клоунов» [clown cloning].

P.S. The video below is quite old, but it’s one of the best English-language videos I found on YouTube about VVZh. Plus it has reactions from regular Russians as well as from the Russian officials. Enjoy!