Volodymyr Zelensky - Ukraine's Unlikely Hero
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shocked the stability of the world leading to many innocent civilians being uprooted or tragically killed. Despite the suffering, the Ukrainian people remain diligently defending their land, with President Volodymyr Zelensky leading the fight. Zelensky’s leadership has captured worldwide attention, his Twitter alone has amassed over 5 million followers and has received global recognition from an abundance of notable people, but who exactly is Volodymyr Zelensky?
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelensky was born in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on 25th January 1978 to Jewish parents Oleksandr and Rymma. His father is a professor and computer scientist whilst his mother was once an engineer. Prior to starting elementary school, Zelensky lived in the Mongolia city of Erdenet for four years where his father was working. He grew up speaking native Russian and later acquired fluency in both Ukrainian and English languages. At the age of 16 Zelensky received an education grant to study in Israel but his father refused to let him go. In 2000 he graduated from Kryvyi Rih National University with a law degree and became active in theatre whilst at university which would later inspire his change in career direction. He has two children (Oleksandra and Kyrylo) with his wife Olena Zelenska and is proving to be one of the most admirable men alive.
Despite a reasonably solid education, Zelensky remained true to himself by following his passion for comedy. Zelensky transformed the comedy company he worked for, Kvartal 95, into a production company in 2001 after winning the Ukrainian League. In 2006 he won the Ukrainian version of Dancing with the Stars and in 2015 he founded and starred in the series Servant Of the People. Zelensky played a high school history teacher whose classroom speech against corruption goes viral and propels him to be elected president of Ukraine. Four years after this series debuted he was elected President in real life with the campaign name ‘Servant Of the People.’ He also voiced the Ukrainian version of Paddington Bear when it was released in 2014. The popularity of his TV career propelled his election success with his political campaign echoing themes explored in the show. He won the second-round runoff against the incumbent, Mr. Poroshenko, with approximately 73% of the vote.
Even with his popular social status, many political opponents questioned if he could fight corruption as fiercely as he acted. In 2019 Nina Jankowicz, a Ukraine expert at Wilson Center Thinktank in Washington DC acknowledged the prejudices he faced, writing that “many commentators label Zelensky a Ukrainian Donald Trump because of his lack of political experience and background in entertainment, Zelensky is, in fact, an adept political actor.”
Zelensky is the underdog of European politics with both amiable and admirable traits, a man worth worldwide respect. “It’s remarkable how Zelensky has finally grown into the role,” noted Max Seddon, the Moscow bureau chief of the Financial Times, on Twitter. “When the US warned of Russia’s plans to invade, he was slammed by Ukrainians for not taking it seriously. But when the war became inevitable, Zelensky started playing the president on TV again — he’s a natural.”
In the early hours of February 24 th , Russia launched a ‘special military operation’ against Ukraine. Tensions between these two countries date back to 1991 both sides signed a treaty to disband the Soviet Union and Russia never fully accepted the independence of Ukraine. Over a month into the war, millions of Ukrainians have fled the country, taking shelter in nearby countries and many valiant citizens have stayed to defend their land.
President Zelensky has done what many other world leaders wouldn’t do and stayed to defend his people. Zelensky has countlessly called upon Western countries to aid the defence of Ukraine and its people. When speaking to US Congress for further military assistance he said, “Being the leader of the world means being the leader of peace,” continuing with, “We are fighting for the values of Europe and the world.”
One thing is clear, Zelensky never wanted this war as he stated “we will not attack, but defend ourselves, and when you attack you will see our faces, not our backs.” The determination and bravery displayed by Zelensky presents a beacon of hope for his people that Russia will lose but also how other world leaders should act when conflict arises on their soil. Despite being offered evacuations by Western leaders he has remained adamant that he and his family will not flee.
Gary Shteyngart, the Russian-born American novelist wrote, “Zelensky has shown the world that Jewish comedians are not to be trifled with. Beneath all the laughs they have a backbone of steel”
The question on everybody’s mind is how will the war end? Although we don’t yet know how this conflict will conclude, what we do know is that President Zelensky has demonstrated a level of leadership few have ever seen and in a time darker than anyone ever should.
Elmer Davis once said, “This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave”- Ukraine will always remain free because of the bravery of its people, and with Zelensky as the leader, no one can truly defeat them.
