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| Ukraine elections marked by curses, threats and brutality | Ukraine elections marked by curses, threats and brutality |
| (8 days later) | |
| Parliaments can be boisterous places and elections are often heated affairs. But the frosty exchanges of an Obama-Romney debate or prime minister's question time in Westminster pale in comparison to the rough and tumble of Ukrainian political discourse. | Parliaments can be boisterous places and elections are often heated affairs. But the frosty exchanges of an Obama-Romney debate or prime minister's question time in Westminster pale in comparison to the rough and tumble of Ukrainian political discourse. |
| With the country poised for elections on Sunday for seats in a parliament renowned for violence and vulgarity, the tone has fallen still further. This is a place where parliamentarians do not refer to each other as honourable friends. They are more likely to threaten to kill each other. | With the country poised for elections on Sunday for seats in a parliament renowned for violence and vulgarity, the tone has fallen still further. This is a place where parliamentarians do not refer to each other as honourable friends. They are more likely to threaten to kill each other. |
| In recent weeks: | In recent weeks: |
| • President Viktor Yanukovych blasted the economy minister, Petro Poroshenko, at a public meeting by promising to "rip off" his head after they disagreed on tax policy. | • President Viktor Yanukovych blasted the economy minister, Petro Poroshenko, at a public meeting by promising to "rip off" his head after they disagreed on tax policy. |
| • The mayor of Kharkiv, Dmytro Kernes, told a subordinate at an official meeting: "I'll multiply you to zero." | • The mayor of Kharkiv, Dmytro Kernes, told a subordinate at an official meeting: "I'll multiply you to zero." |
| • The mayor of Kerch, Oleh Osadchyi, called journalists who criticised a new monument "morons" and "bastards". | • The mayor of Kerch, Oleh Osadchyi, called journalists who criticised a new monument "morons" and "bastards". |
| Observers say the bad political manners partly derive from Soviet times, when communication between bosses and their staff was often marked by humiliation and the use of swearwords. "It was a joke that mat [bad language, in Ukrainian or Russian] was a main tool of Soviet management," the political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said. | Observers say the bad political manners partly derive from Soviet times, when communication between bosses and their staff was often marked by humiliation and the use of swearwords. "It was a joke that mat [bad language, in Ukrainian or Russian] was a main tool of Soviet management," the political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko said. |
| The legacy of the 1990s, when the transformation to capitalism – following the collapse of the Soviet system – was marked by rampant criminality, is also a contributing factor. | The legacy of the 1990s, when the transformation to capitalism – following the collapse of the Soviet system – was marked by rampant criminality, is also a contributing factor. |
| Most representatives of the current establishment were brought up during those rough times. "A generation of the 1990s that survived the criminal showdowns came into politics," said Taras Berezovets, a political analyst. "And they brought into politics their customs, slang and culture of communication." | Most representatives of the current establishment were brought up during those rough times. "A generation of the 1990s that survived the criminal showdowns came into politics," said Taras Berezovets, a political analyst. "And they brought into politics their customs, slang and culture of communication." |
| Yanukovych was twice imprisoned as a young adult, and has been known to use street language while the prime minister, Mykola Azarov, once told opposition MPs to "piss off" after they criticised his budget plan when he was finance minister. | Yanukovych was twice imprisoned as a young adult, and has been known to use street language while the prime minister, Mykola Azarov, once told opposition MPs to "piss off" after they criticised his budget plan when he was finance minister. |
| Sometimes politicians go beyond verbal abuse, especially in parliament, where fights have often led to torn shirts and bleeding heads, and where eggs, chairs and even smoke bombs have been used as weapons. Pictures of the parliamentary fights have been beamed around the world. | Sometimes politicians go beyond verbal abuse, especially in parliament, where fights have often led to torn shirts and bleeding heads, and where eggs, chairs and even smoke bombs have been used as weapons. Pictures of the parliamentary fights have been beamed around the world. |
| Pundits blame the brutality on the internecine warring between the country's political elites, which led to the opposition bloc leader and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko being jailed for seven years. | Pundits blame the brutality on the internecine warring between the country's political elites, which led to the opposition bloc leader and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko being jailed for seven years. |
| Political talkshows are another venue for abuse. "You talk about the courts that jailed Tymoshenko and why she is in jail. And you, a black-mouthed witch, were running around those courts," Oleh Liashko, a former Tymoshenko bloc deputy, told Inna Bohoslovska of the pro-government Party of Regions during a popular talkshow. "Should I hit him in the face?" Bohoslovska asked the studio audience. | Political talkshows are another venue for abuse. "You talk about the courts that jailed Tymoshenko and why she is in jail. And you, a black-mouthed witch, were running around those courts," Oleh Liashko, a former Tymoshenko bloc deputy, told Inna Bohoslovska of the pro-government Party of Regions during a popular talkshow. "Should I hit him in the face?" Bohoslovska asked the studio audience. |
| Some experts admit such an exchange could boost the pair's popularity, as both are running for parliament. "This way, politicians try to seem closer to the people; they are flirting with the electorate speaking this kind of language," said Oleh Pokalchuk, a social psychologist. | Some experts admit such an exchange could boost the pair's popularity, as both are running for parliament. "This way, politicians try to seem closer to the people; they are flirting with the electorate speaking this kind of language," said Oleh Pokalchuk, a social psychologist. |
| Up to 40% of Ukrainians consider brutality and obscene language acceptable, according to a poll by the Gorshenin Institute thinktank. | Up to 40% of Ukrainians consider brutality and obscene language acceptable, according to a poll by the Gorshenin Institute thinktank. |
| Kangaroo court | Kangaroo court |
| Sprawling over 140 hectares on the banks of the Dnieper river, Mezhyhirya – "the land among hills" – is a paradise fit for a king. And a president. The few who have ventured behind the five-metre-high fence topped with barbed wire describe a magnificent park, guesthouse, aviary with ostriches, and dozens of security guards. | Sprawling over 140 hectares on the banks of the Dnieper river, Mezhyhirya – "the land among hills" – is a paradise fit for a king. And a president. The few who have ventured behind the five-metre-high fence topped with barbed wire describe a magnificent park, guesthouse, aviary with ostriches, and dozens of security guards. |
| That Viktor Yanukovych lives here is not in dispute. But a controversy has erupted over who owns the property and whether it is fitting for a president of a struggling state to live in such luxury. | That Viktor Yanukovych lives here is not in dispute. But a controversy has erupted over who owns the property and whether it is fitting for a president of a struggling state to live in such luxury. |
| More details emerged about the secretive world of Mezhyhirya when a journalist, Tetiana Chornovil, managed to get into the grounds in August and spent three hours walking around, taking photographs on her mobile phone. Chornovil released pictures of a 50-metre pontoon, which people called "a palace on the water". She later told colleagues: "It looks awesome: gilded wood, even the masts were gilded." Chornovil is now running for parliament as an opposition candidate. | More details emerged about the secretive world of Mezhyhirya when a journalist, Tetiana Chornovil, managed to get into the grounds in August and spent three hours walking around, taking photographs on her mobile phone. Chornovil released pictures of a 50-metre pontoon, which people called "a palace on the water". She later told colleagues: "It looks awesome: gilded wood, even the masts were gilded." Chornovil is now running for parliament as an opposition candidate. |
| Mezhyhirya is the former summer house of Soviet-era Communist party chiefs. Yanukovych chose it as a residence after he became president in 2010. He says he only owns a tiny part of it, but Sergiy Leshchenko, a prominent investigative journalist at the web newspaper Ukrainska Pravda, claims Yanukovych owns the entire estate, describing a complex ownership structure via a network of international holding companies that ultimately comes back to a firm called Tantalit, run by a lawyer close to the Yanukovych family, Pavlo Lytovchenko. | Mezhyhirya is the former summer house of Soviet-era Communist party chiefs. Yanukovych chose it as a residence after he became president in 2010. He says he only owns a tiny part of it, but Sergiy Leshchenko, a prominent investigative journalist at the web newspaper Ukrainska Pravda, claims Yanukovych owns the entire estate, describing a complex ownership structure via a network of international holding companies that ultimately comes back to a firm called Tantalit, run by a lawyer close to the Yanukovych family, Pavlo Lytovchenko. |
| Leshchenko said the estimated price of the house together with a nearby sports complex and sauna is around 1bn hryvnia (£80.5m). "This excludes the price of golf club, horse club, yacht club, heliport, zoos, greenhouses, garages and the administrative buildings," he said. In addition, the residence is served by hundreds of people. | Leshchenko said the estimated price of the house together with a nearby sports complex and sauna is around 1bn hryvnia (£80.5m). "This excludes the price of golf club, horse club, yacht club, heliport, zoos, greenhouses, garages and the administrative buildings," he said. In addition, the residence is served by hundreds of people. |
| The president's affection for exotic animals has generated its fair share of jokes. Leshchenko said that apart from horses, ostriches and deer, three kangaroos were brought to the residence. But one of them died, another escaped and the third was released with hopes it would return with the escaped kangaroo, but it also disappeared in the nearby forest. | The president's affection for exotic animals has generated its fair share of jokes. Leshchenko said that apart from horses, ostriches and deer, three kangaroos were brought to the residence. But one of them died, another escaped and the third was released with hopes it would return with the escaped kangaroo, but it also disappeared in the nearby forest. |
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