Maksym Buzhanskyi

Biography

Maksym Buzhanskyi is a Member of the Verkhovna Rada of the 9th convocation, elected from the “Servant of the People” party (District No. 25, Dnipropetrovsk region), and is considered by media outlets to be pro-Russian.

He serves on the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement and several inter-parliamentary groups. Although an urban planning engineer by profession, he previously worked as a publicist and blogger.

In parliament, he is known for his criticism of the current Law on the State Language; in 2019, he introduced a bill to repeal it, arguing that it discriminated against Russian-speaking citizens. He is the author of Draft Law No. 2362, which provides for extending the duration of instruction in the languages of national minorities not included in the EU, specifically Russian. Furthermore, Buzhanskyi authored laws on combating antisemitism and voluntary military registration for women. In 2023, he was the only MP to vote against establishing May 8 as the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II.

His activities have drawn criticism for spreading pro-Russian narratives and anti-Western rhetoric, inciting ethnic strife, and making scandalous statements, including a refusal to speak Ukrainian on air, which sparked critical reactions from state officials.

In 2025, he also initiated amendments to Draft Law No. 12414 regarding the subordination of the NABU and the SAP to the Prosecutor General, a move toward liquidating the independence of anti-corruption bodies.

In general, Buzhanskyi is known as a controversial politician with positions that often diverge from official state policy, particularly regarding language, history, and anti-terrorist policy. At the same time, he maintains influence in parliament and has group ties associated with oligarch Ihor Kolomoiskyi, as well as the head of the “Servant of the People” faction, Davyd Arakhamia.

Timeline of Key Events

2025

Posted on his Facebook page: “brothers, happy Victory Day.”

Supported the unconstitutional project regarding a special procedure for the compulsory alienation of land in the Uzhhorod district of the Zakarpattia region (#9549). The initiative contained a number of scandalous provisions creating risks for both deforestation and the development of a corrupt scheme to purchase real estate using budget funds from “necessary” people at prices 3–3.6 times higher than market value. Moreover, it was Buzhanskyi who initiated the accelerated procedure for the speaker, Ruslan Stefanchuk, to sign the law.

Supported Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk’s controversial bill to abolish the Commercial Code of Ukraine (#6013), which defined the general principles of interaction between business and the state. This law poses risks to national security and was opposed by the “Holka” civic initiative, “Ecology. Law. Person,” the “Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group,” and other organisations that appealed to Zelenskyy to veto the project. The Association of Ukrainian Cities also opposed this law.

Supported the so-called “Ihor Mazepa Law” (Draft 12089). This legislative initiative essentially reflected the demands of unscrupulous businesses. The law provides for the “resetting” of claims regarding illegally acquired forests and coastal lands if ten years have passed since they entered private ownership. This means that all such land grabs that occurred over the last decade could be legalised. If the 10-year period has not yet passed, then before filing a lawsuit to save the property, the state or local budget would be required to deposit the value of the property in question into a court account. Despite a petition demanding a veto gathering over 25,000 signatures, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the document. The first victim of the “Ihor Mazepa Law” was the case concerning Protasiv Yar, which was defended by the late scout and Kyiv resident Roman Ratushnyi.

Voted for the project on bringing journalists and activists who mention the clients of lawyers to administrative responsibility (#12320). Organisations such as DEJURE, “Holka,” the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, and the CHESNO Movement opposed this bill, noting that it had hallmarks of censorship.

Supported the bill which limited the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) and strengthened the powers of the Prosecutor General (#12414). According to a number of NGOs, including Transparency International Ukraine, this initiative poses a direct threat to the independence of these key anti-corruption bodies. The European Commission considers the adoption of this law a serious step backward. Buzhanskyi was the author of the scandalous amendments and proposed that MPs instruct the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada to sign the document immediately. Consequently, on the day of its adoption, the law was signed by both Ruslan Stefanchuk and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which triggered mass street protests during the war.

2024

Did not vote for the law prohibiting the activities of religious organisations whose governing centre is located in Russia, specifically the Russian Orthodox Church (#8371). Previously, along with other pro-Russian MPs, he tried to stop its consideration by demanding that the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada appeal to the Venice Commission for an opinion on the project.

Research by “Holka” and Texty.org revealed that the MP’s Telegram channel is part of a Kremlin network attempting to undermine trust in the judicial system and discredit honest judges.

A scandal arose after Buzhanskyi was invited to give a lecture at the Military Institute of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

2023

Attempted to block the decolonisation bill (#7253), which prohibits the promotion of Russia’s imperial policy and decolonises local names. The law was nevertheless approved by the Verkhovna Rada.

2022

Did not vote for the bill on the prohibition of pro-Russian parties (#7172-1).

On the “Nash” TV channel, he argued that there are “good Russians” and, two days before the invasion, stated that “in Ukraine, the question of the state’s existence is now being raised.” These narratives were subsequently picked up by Russian propaganda.

2021

Submitted a bill proposing the cancellation of fines for violating the law on ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language in the service sector (#4638). The Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy recommended not including the initiative on the agenda.

The Verkhovna Rada rejected Buzhanskyi’s bill on “preventing the glorification of war criminals and the legalisation of Nazism” (#2797), which was described by Volodymyr Viatrovych as being written in the style of Russian propaganda.

Buzhanskyi initiated the bill on preventing and combating antisemitism in Ukraine (#5109), which was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in 2021.

The politician was included in a list of the largest spreaders of pro-Russian narratives among public figures in Ukraine, prepared by the Institute of Mass Information.

2020

Registered a bill on amending the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada regarding the working language (#3084), which would allow MPs to speak in Russian. The Verkhovna Rada did not consider the document.

Was among the initiators of the bill on amending the Law on Languages regarding the cancellation of measures of response in the service sector (#4528), which was also ignored by the Verkhovna Rada.

Reported being attacked by nationalists, a claim immediately amplified by Russian propaganda.

2019

Elected as a People’s Deputy of Ukraine from the “Servant of the People” party (District No. 25, Dnipropetrovsk region). Before he took office, “Detector Media” published a detailed analysis of his pro-Russian narratives.

After his election, he called an NV journalist a “stupid sheep,” drawing condemnation from the journalistic community.

Claimed that the cancellation of the Kivalov-Kolesnichenko language law was one of the reasons for the start of Russia’s occupation of Crimea (the law was actually cancelled three days after the occupation began).

Initiated a bill providing for the repeal of the language law regarding the transition of 5th–11th grade students to Ukrainian as the language of instruction (#2362).

Registered a bill to repeal the language law (#2577), which was not considered by the Verkhovna Rada.

2017

Began working for the ZIK TV channel, which belonged to Viktor Medvedchuk’s orbit, as a co-host of Nataliia Vlashchenko’s programme “People Against.”

2014

Condemned the Revolution of Dignity, supported the Party of Regions, considered Yanukovych a legitimate president, and stated that “the Maidan ruined Ukraine.”

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