Zhirinovsky Beat

Russia's top ultranationalist was up to his neck last week in forceful pronouncements and manly winter sports:

Wednesday: In an interview with a Czech newspaper, Zhirinovsky warned that Czechs "will be forced to ... clean the shoes of German officers" ... Thursday: Visiting St. Petersburg, he claimed to have rejected a $1 billion bribe from an Asian country to help it "get some islands." He also vowed that "barbarian peoples" in southern Russia would have their villages destroyed by napalm ... Sunday: He planned to take part in a vigorous 40-km (25-mile) cross-country skiing competition in Moscow.