Veteran Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky dies at 75

Veteran Russian far-right politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky has died after a long illness, the speaker of parliament said on Wednesday.

Zhirinovsky, 75, was admitted to hospital earlier this year after contracting COVID-19, Reuters reported, citing Russian media.

"The scale of his personality is such that without him it is difficult to imagine the history of the development of the political system of modern Russia," parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said in a tribute.