Multiple sources (for example, here) state that Ukranian Parliamentarians routinely have physical fights on the assembly floor. The videos look a bit like stage fighting to me, however. Are these real fights, or faked? If they're theater, are these real government officials, or actors?
asked Jul 31, 2015 at 3:26
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18Ukraine is far from the only nation whose politics involves fistfights.– Compro01Jul 31, 2015 at 12:11
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A few years back in the UK, MP John Prescott was pelted with an egg by a non-politician and retaliated by punching the person. I think the only reason it doesn't happen more often is because politicans get told that Prime Ministers Questions is already too violent (even though they're only shouting at each other).– PharapJul 31, 2015 at 15:30
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2The distinction between "real" and "faked" may be fuzzy. For instance, how would you classify fighting in hockey, or boxing? Real punches are thrown, but both participants consent, and there is normally no intent to cause serious injury.– Nate EldredgeJul 31, 2015 at 17:48
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2Apparently it's common enough to warrant a website: parliamentfights.wordpress.com– PharapAug 5, 2015 at 10:47
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1@Compro01 If nothing else today, thank you for introducing me to the wikipedia article on Legislative Violence.– ZibbobzMar 1, 2022 at 20:27
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1 Answer
They're real politicians. This is easy enough to prove- the third video in that link has Oleh Lyashko taking part. If you do a Google Image search, you can see his face and you get a clear look in the video (as shown below), so it definitely is him.
It seems a bit silly to suggest it's theatre, though. Why would politicians engage in anything other than politics, especially when it seems to be quite a cut-throat enterprise in Ukraine? I'd suggest that they do it because it's a part of their culture.
In fact, BBC News have an article on this very topic.
If it helps, I can give more examples:
"Fight In Ukrainian Parliament Spills Blood As Anti-Corruption Bill Vote Turns Nasty"
"Ukraine MPs in fierce fist fight outside parliament"
You get the idea. Yes, they do have regular fist fights, and you can see lots of videos online to attest to that.
Addendum: Compro01's comment link is good enough to be worth inclusion. This is actually covered in Wikipedia- not only that, but many other nations have their own incidents.
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4"I'd suggest that they do it because it's a part of their culture." I find this statement extremely rude, as you are projecting behaviour of individuals onto the whole nation. Jul 31, 2015 at 21:49
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although nowhere near as often-- I don't think that's substantiated by the wikipedia link it refers to.– user27385Jul 31, 2015 at 23:58 -
@BroSlow, you might notice that the Ukraine section talks about "mass brawls" while the UK & US sections talk about individuals. If you look online you can see a whole load more incidents in Ukraine, so I think that Wikipedia page is far from exhaustive. Aug 3, 2015 at 7:34
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1@MaxMalysh, I was referring to the political subculture, although it makes sense that it would be derived from the greater culture in some way. Aug 3, 2015 at 7:50
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@PointlessSpike There are plenty of examples from other countries that are just as bad, including from the same wiki page:
India-A riot ensued in the legislature, with members clubbing each other with microphone stands and footwear, which was finally ended by riot police who stormed the legislature and beat up everybody with their batons– user27385Aug 3, 2015 at 22:50