MOSCOW — Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev, owner of two leading British newspapers, punched a man in the face during a television debate on the financial crisis to be aired on Sunday.
A clip posted on the NTV television channel's website shows Lebedev, a former KGB agent who has made a fortune in banking, landed a right jab to the face of ex-real estate baron Sergei Polonsky.
Lebedev knocked Polonsky off his chair, and threw another punch as Polonsky tumbled off the back of the studio's elevated platform, but the second punch failed to connect.
Just before Lebedev pounced, Polonsky told the other guests he wanted to "stick one in the mouth."
On his blog, Lebedev justified the assault by saying Polonsky had behaved in an aggressive, threatening manner throughout the debate.
"In a critical situation, there is no choice. I see no reason to be hit with the first shot. I neutralised him," the owner of Independent and Evening Standard newspapers said.
Lebedev also co-owns liberal Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta with ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Polonsky, who used to head the Mirax Group real estate firm, got up quickly and did not appear injured, but later published online pictures of a cut on his arm and his torn trousers.
Polonsky's business nosedived after the onset of the 2008 global financial crisis, forcing him to abandon work on Muscow's Federation Tower, which he hoped would become the tallest building in Europe.
Was I the only one who pictured a fighting tournament where Russian Oligarchs would compete one against the other, winning grand prices, before finally reaching the End Boss Vladimir Putin?
I thought there'd be an EPIC RAP BATTLE between oligarchs. A punch in the face... well, that's not it.
Lì ci sono chiese, macerie, moschee e questure, lì frontiere, prezzi inaccessibile e freddure
Lì paludi, minacce, cecchini coi fucili, documenti, file notturne e clandestini
Qui incontri, lotte, passi sincronizzati, colori, capannelli non autorizzati,
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Norseman wrote:Was I the only one who pictured a fighting tournament where Russian Oligarchs would compete one against the other, winning grand prices, before finally reaching the End Boss Vladimir Putin?
And to think Alexander Lebedev, who demonstrates himself as a thug who has a poor control of his temper, owns somewhat reputable newspapers such as The Independent and Evening Standard in the UK.
'Alright guard, begin the unnecessarily slow moving dipping mechanism...' - Dr. Evil
'Secondly, I don't see why "income inequality" is a bad thing. Poverty is not an injustice. There is no such thing as causes for poverty, only causes for wealth. Poverty is not a wrong, but taking money from those who have it to equalize incomes is basically theft, which is wrong.' - Typical Randroid
'I think it's gone a little bit wrong.' - The Doctor
Polonsky had it coming though. Karma police! The man who said "Anyone who doesn't have a billion can go fuck himself" got hit in his FFFUUUcking face. Excellent if you ask me.
After all, a poor person wouldn't be able to come ten foot close to Polonsky to hit him in the face, so it had to be done by one of his own ugly kind.
Lì ci sono chiese, macerie, moschee e questure, lì frontiere, prezzi inaccessibile e freddure
Lì paludi, minacce, cecchini coi fucili, documenti, file notturne e clandestini
Qui incontri, lotte, passi sincronizzati, colori, capannelli non autorizzati,
Uccelli migratori, reti, informazioni, piazze di Tutti i like pazze di passioni...
...La tranquillità è importante ma la libertà è tutto!
Obviously, we need peasants with arms that are twenty feet long.
But seriously, I love this:
On his blog, Lebedev justified the assault by saying Polonsky had behaved in an aggressive, threatening manner throughout the debate.
"In a critical situation, there is no choice. I see no reason to be hit with the first shot. I neutralised him," the owner of Independent and Evening Standard newspapers said.
I'm comparing it to that instance where one of the oligarchs was blathering on about miniguns and such at a German airport- do they actually talk and think like this normally?
Simon_Jester wrote:do they actually talk and think like this normally?
Yes, most of the time. In fact, this might make it easier to understand just why I am a shameless class warrior. When you read and see that sort of shit daily you become sort of ... shaped by the environment.
Lì ci sono chiese, macerie, moschee e questure, lì frontiere, prezzi inaccessibile e freddure
Lì paludi, minacce, cecchini coi fucili, documenti, file notturne e clandestini
Qui incontri, lotte, passi sincronizzati, colori, capannelli non autorizzati,
Uccelli migratori, reti, informazioni, piazze di Tutti i like pazze di passioni...
...La tranquillità è importante ma la libertà è tutto!
Yes. All the drawbacks of the Czarist aristocracy, with none of the willingness to lead armies from the front or things like that. Sigh.
I don't know about you, but I find aristocrats a bit easier to put up with when they've got that ideology of personal courage and service, insofar as it actually exists. Pure, unapologetic thugs with money are just offensive and parasitic.
You've never met them in person, too. I haven't met any of the big ones, but I've met their underlings and that was enough. They're like Mini-Me, ugly copies of their masters. It is offensive when you read that shit in the newspaper. When you see and hear someone speaking it out loud right in front of your nose, you don't just feel offended, you feel a burning desire to punch that person in the face. Too bad it wasn't a shoe-thrower from the crowd that usually accompanies talk shows.
Lì ci sono chiese, macerie, moschee e questure, lì frontiere, prezzi inaccessibile e freddure
Lì paludi, minacce, cecchini coi fucili, documenti, file notturne e clandestini
Qui incontri, lotte, passi sincronizzati, colori, capannelli non autorizzati,
Uccelli migratori, reti, informazioni, piazze di Tutti i like pazze di passioni...
...La tranquillità è importante ma la libertà è tutto!
Simon_Jester wrote:Obviously, we need peasants with arms that are twenty feet long.
But seriously, I love this:
On his blog, Lebedev justified the assault by saying Polonsky had behaved in an aggressive, threatening manner throughout the debate.
"In a critical situation, there is no choice. I see no reason to be hit with the first shot. I neutralised him," the owner of Independent and Evening Standard newspapers said.
I'm comparing it to that instance where one of the oligarchs was blathering on about miniguns and such at a German airport- do they actually talk and think like this normally?
The other one was a Ukrainian politician, actually.
Having met actual oligarchs, I'd say that most of them are not secretly burning with the desire to bash your face in. They're slippery backstabbing assholes, sure, but they usually have bodyguards for this sort of thing. In this case Lebedev's KGB instincts probably kicked in.
