Vladimir Zhirinovsky was the long-serving leader of Russia's LDPR party and one of the country's most recognisable politicians, famous for loud, theatrical public outbursts. Short excerpts of his speeches and interviews have circulated for years on Russian social media and soundboards, often detached from their original setting. This Safonov payment line spread in that same way, kept alive because a single stern command can be reapplied to any argument about money, debts or splitting a bill, even for listeners outside Russian politics.