Moscow, Tuesday
RUSSIAN far-right leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky fought his way back into
the headlines today, scuffling with a top talk show host and throwing
orange juice into the face of a fellow guest during a live broadcast.
Nizhny Novgorod regional governor Boris Nemtsov, whom Zhirinovsky had
called ''scumbag'' and ''bastard'', replied in kind by emptying his
fruit juice over Zhirinovsky.
The two men have a history of antagonism. Nemtsov, much admired by the
Western economists Zhirinovsky despises, once accused Zhirinovsky of
breaking into his office with a group of aides.
Nemtsov produced a copy of Playboy magazine and suggested Zhirinovsky
had contracted syphilis through sleeping with some of the 200 conquests
of which he had boasted in an interview with the magazine.
''We know your problem,'' Nemtsov said with a smile, pointing to the
magazine.
''You've just made that up,'' erupted Zhirinovsky, who has variously
made the news for hurling plant pots at French students, threatening to
flood the Baltics with nuclear waste, and advocating Russia's need to
expand to the Indian Ocean.
''We can cure you. We have two simple injections,'' Nemtsov said.
Zhirinovsky rose to his feet with cries of ''bastard'' and
''scumbag''. Talk show host Alexander Lyubimov tried in vain to restore
calm.
''You are a bastard. I spit in your face,'' shouted Zhirinovsky,
picking up a glass of orange juice and throwing the contents in
Nemtsov's face.
Nemtsov replied with his fruit juice and the two men stood dripping in
the studio before Zhirinovsky threw his empty glass at his adversary.
''Sit down, sit down both of you,'' pleaded Lyubimov.
''How can I when that bastard is saying such things?'' replied
Zhirinovsky, grabbing another empty glass and hurling it at Nemtsov.
The screen suddenly faded to black, but Pravda reported that the two
men had continued their duel by hurling make-up kits at each other.
Nemtsov told a news agency that Lyubimov had then punched Zhirinovsky
in the face. The journalist declined to comment today but said: ''All I
can say is that we had a man-to-man talk'' -- Russian shorthand for a
scuffle.--Reuter.
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