Vladimir Zhirinovsky, head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and a deputy speaker in the Russian parliament's lower house, has marked the appointment of the new Moscow mayor with a new song.
The Moscow City Duma confirmed Sergei Sobyanin, the former chief of staff to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, as mayor on Thursday. He was sworn in later in the day in a ceremony attended by President Dmitry Medvedev.
"Specially for the inauguration of the new mayor, I have recorded a song performed by myself. The song is called 'Moskva' [Moscow]. It represents Moscow in a way that millions of its residents would like to see it," Zhirinovsky, known for his extravagant and controversial political statements, wrote on his blog on Friday.
This is not Zhirinovsky's first foray into the music sphere. The politician, who was suggested by some analysts as a possible candidate for Moscow mayor, previously recorded more than a dozen patriotic songs and romantic ballads.
Moskva was recorded together with the Interior Ministry choir, the politician said, adding that he had sent the record to the capital's main radio stations.
RIA Novosti
