Last week, a session of the Ukrainian parliament turned violent after Poroshenko Bloc MP Oleh Barna grabbed Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and struggled to remove him from the podium during his speech, literally picking him and trying to carry him off the stage while holding a bouquet of flowers.
Rumble in the Rada/ Ukraine parliament fights it out as MP attempts to drag PM Yatsenyuk away (VIDEO) — https://t.co/4Am4dz5kP9
— Katrina vandenHeuvel (@KatrinaNation) 12 декабря 2015
The spectacle quickly degenerated into a full-scale fistfight, and, as expected, was derided online in a number of internet memes.
Then, on Monday, Odessa Govenor Mikheil Saakashvili got a glass of water thrown in his face by Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov as the two men shouted recriminations at each other over corruption allegations. On Wednesday, Avakov published a video of the spat on his Facebook page.
Wow, the Avakov/Saakashvili spat is out on video https://t.co/YX2x04oBEZ Absolute chaos! Neither of them come out looking good.
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) 16 декабря 2015
Alexei Martynov, head of the Moscow-based International Institute of the Newly Established States, has meanwhile warned that the internal situation in Ukraine is getting closer to a full-blown political crisis, which could take place as soon as early 2016.
"I'm not sure that it will occur this month, but early next year we will see mass [government] resignations in Ukraine, which may be followed by a political crisis and early elections," Martynov said.
According to him, Ukrainian politicians started to lose their nerves after US Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Ukraine in early December, which Martynov said prompted many Ukrainian politicians to remain downbeat about the future of their country.
.@poroshenko, head in hands, sums up the Avakov/Saakashvili quarrel (and state of govt?) best. https://t.co/Am6UrOCSf8
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) 16 декабря 2015
"It's like crabs in a barrel because it's clear that the [political] situation in Ukraine is rapidly moving to its end", Martynov concluded.
Commenting on a showdown between Avakov and Saakashvili, Bogdan Bezpalko, deputy director of the Center for Ukrainian and Belarusian Studies at Moscow State University, said, in turn, that by posting the video of the incident on his Facebook page, Arsen Avakov had tried to win the sympathy of the Ukrainians.
"Why was it published? I think it was a PR move aimed to show oneself as a representative of the new political elite, who will act in a transparent manner and for the greater public good," Bezpalko said.
He mentioned a whole array of Ukrainian politicians who have tried to make images for themselves as corruption-fighters and champions of Ukraine's national interests.
Many have viewed the prospect of war-torn Ukraine entering a 'crisis' with skepticism; since the 2014 revolt that ousted former president Yanukovych, living standards have plummeted along with the country's currency. According to a 2015 Credit Suisse report, Ukrainians are the least wealthy people in Europe, in terms of personal assets.
