The Russian deputy will protect the rights of the Russian-speaking population of America

Vice-speaker of the Russian parliament Vladimir Zhirinovsky is to visit the USA once again. The vice-speaker says that he has offered to meet with representatives of the US presidential administration and the US department of state, as well as with the CIA deputy director and deputy minister for Domestic Security to discuss Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq. Although the Russian deputy knows little about the life of average Americans, he has a clear idea of the life of Russians in the USA. Moreover, he has plans to protect their interests in America. Vladimir Zhirinovsky says that he will suggest that US President George W. Bush give Russian the status of the US's second official language. Zhirinovsky says that the Russian-speaking population of the USA makes up from 3 to 7 million people. Immigrants from former Soviet countries exert great influence in America, and members of the Russian community in the USA are included in America's elite. That is why Zhirinovsky says it is quite natural to consider the attachment of an official status to the Russian language in America. The reaction of America's Russian-speaking population is not clear yet. Latvia refused to grant a visa to vice-speaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky, as he is on a so-called black list consisting of politicians who are not welcomed in Latvia.