Russian voters will cast their ballots on Sunday to choose a new president from five candidates vying for the top job, with incumbent Prime Minister Vladimir Putin heavily favored to win his third presidential term.

The following is a brief profile of presidential candidate Vladimir Zhirinovsky, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR):

Zhirinovsky was born on April 25, 1946 in Almaty, capital of the then Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1970, he graduated from the Moscow State University and obtained a Ph.D. in philosophy in the same university in 1977.

From 1970 to 1972, he served in the Armed Forces in the Transcaucasian Military District. Between 1972 and 1975, Zhirinovsky worked at the West European sector of the international department of the Soviet Committee for Peace.

He worked at the International Students Department of the High School of Trade Unions from 1975 to 1977 and served on the Board of International Affairs of Russia's Ministry of Justice from 1977 to 1983.

In 1989, Zhirinovsky founded the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of the former Soviet Union. Since March 31, 1990, he has been the chairman of the LDPR.

Zhirinovsky, a political figure with a distinctive personal style, had participated in presidential elections four times -- in 1991, 1996, 2003 and 2008. He finished the third place with some 9 percent of the votes in the last election.

In his pre-election manifesto, Zhirinovsky voiced his support for Russia's industrialization and development of regional economies and national enterprises. He fiercely opposed Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization, the expansion of NATO, and a "Color Revolution" in Russia.