After Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 at the behest of Vladimir Putin, no one knows what to expect from the former Soviet state and its current leader, Vladimir Zelensky. In his hometown, Zelenskiy was a former comedian and actor who produced his own films and television shows, earning him a place in the hearts of the Ukrainian public and making him a beloved celebrity.
According to the World Economic Forum, this is not the first time he has made a major career change. Zelenskyy originally studied law at Kiev State Economic University, but his time in the competitive stand-up team Quarter-95 introduced him to the world of comedy. After graduation, the young man apparently decided to follow his heart and try to succeed in the acting world. And the time Zelenskiy spent in front of the cameras in the Russian attack may have helped him, as he was praised by the international community for communicating ukraine's critical situation to the outside world.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is proud of his Jewish ancestry
Volodymyr Zelenskyy grew up in "an ordinary Soviet Jewish family," as he told The Times of Israel in 2020. "On my father's side, my grandfather and his three brothers were on the front lines of World War II, and only he came back," the politician revealed, describing his family background and the sacrifices they made for the Red Army. "My grandmother lived in Kriverikh, a part of southern Ukraine occupied by the fascists. They killed all the Jews who remained. Despite the dangers, his grandmother managed to escape to the Kazakh city of Almaty, where several evacuees gathered.
His family was not particularly orthodox. "Most Jewish families in the SOVIET Union had no religious affiliation," Zelenskiy noted. "You know, in the Soviet state, religion doesn't exist." But the politician acknowledged that he had his own ties to religion, though he tended to keep secrets. "Of course, I believe in God. But I only talk to him in moments that are very personal to me," the leader said.
Zelenskiy's own family history, referring to marginal paramilitary groups, became particularly important after Vladimir Putin promised russia that Ukraine would be "de-nagized" through its Occupation of Ukraine in February 2022, the Washington Post reported. The Russian leader's justification for the war was dismissed by Zelenskiy, who tweeted that Russia was actually responding to Nazi Germany by "following an evil path." He later drew attention to Russia's bombing of the Holocaust Memorial in a Facebook post written in Hebrew.
His wife did not want to enter politics
If Volodymyr Zelenskyy seemed unlikely to be a candidate when he launched his presidential campaign, his wife, Olena Zelenska, was an equally unlikely choice for the first lady. "I'm a non-public figure," she told the Ukrainian version of Vogue, explaining that she would rather stay out of the spotlight and be unhappy with her husband's political ambitions. "I'm not a party life, I don't like to tell jokes. That's not my character. ” But when Volodymyr was elected, she had to adjust to the "new realities" of her life. “ I found myself a reason to support the propaganda," Olena admitted. "One of them is the opportunity to draw attention to important social issues."
Although they were from the same city, the first time Olena was introduced to her future husband was during college. As the Washington Post reported, she gave up her degree in architecture to work with Volodymyr at a new production company called Kvartal 95 Studio. She remained a professional screenwriter and gave birth to their two children, Sasha and Cyril. Although her husband's becoming a "first target" in Russia puts her and their children at risk, Olena uses her Instagram to support Zelenskiy's message. "I'm not going to panic and cry today. I will remain calm and confident," she wrote next to the Ukrainian flag on Instagram, translated by the export. "My kids are all watching me and I'll be by their side, by my husband's side, with you. I love you!
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is paddington bear voice
Before entering politics, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a well-loved comedian and actor in his home country. Given his recent wartime statesmanship, the world has been rediscovering his past acting career.
Zelenskiy's message of playing the most polite bear in children's literature particularly won the internet. As StudioCanal confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter, when the hit movie premiered in 2014 and 2017, the comedian voiced the Ukrainian versions of Paddington and Paddington 2. In February 2022, one of the film's stars, Hugh Bonneville, tweeted, "On my own behalf, thank you President Zelensky."
Zelenskyy's new online fans were also blown away by footage of the politician dealing with the re-emergence of the ballroom and Latin dance, with one Twitter user promising the video to be "better than anything you can imagine." According to the deadline, he appeared on the "Dance with the Stars" show in Ukraine in 2006 and won the entire season with surprisingly flexible moves.
He plays the president of Ukraine on television
Although he is already a household name in Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenskiy's iconic role came when he began starring in Servant of the People in 2015. The comedy series follows a history teacher whose explosive rants against corrupt politicians go viral online, leading him to accidentally become a national hero. In a plot twist that reflects Zelenskiy's own real-life journey, the character was subsequently elected president of Ukraine.
The series was a hit, streaming live into 2019, although it stopped airing in Russia after only a few episodes due to a joke by Vladimir Putin. According to the European Forum, Zelenskiy even named his party "Servants of the People" when he registered in 2018. According to Fox News, after the Russian invasion four years later, the series gained significant "popularity" worldwide, as various networks have managed to seize the rights to the comedy series.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy won the 2019 election with an "overwhelming margin"
In a shocking case of life imitation art, Volodymyr Zelenskyy ran for president in 2019 and won what BBC News called an absolute "landslide victory" with 73% of the vote. Billionaire Peter Poroshenko, who has been president since 2014, acknowledged the loss but warned zelenskiy did not have enough political knowledge to protect the country from Russia.
Throughout the electoral process, Zelenskiy has been selling himself out as a "new thing," emphasizing his status as a political insider with connections to the Ukrainian public. "They want people with a human face," he told BBC News, comparing himself to corrupt government officials. His motto is "No commitment, no disappointment". In his inaugural address, Zelenskiy talked about how his then-6-year-old son asked him if he was also president, declaring that his child was right and that every Ukrainian could play a role in his election victory. "Each of us has a responsibility to Ukraine," he promised. “...... This is our common dream. But we share common pain. ”
The President of Ukraine became popular for playing the piano
Not all of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's comedic achievements are entirely presidential. A video circulating online during the 2019 election shows Zelenskiy and a comedy duo standing behind a piano with their pants down and arms held high, playing music without hand. As the Guardian reported, a skit on Russian TV channel RT showed Zelenskiy quipping: "You want to go into politics? Take off your pants. ”
In light of the recent conflict in Ukraine, the video went viral again as many pointed to a juxtaposition between Zelenskiy's comedic past and his recent political woes that were life-and-death after Russia's February 2022 invasion. "Are any of us not playing 'Hava Nagila' on the piano with their genitals on stage and then going on to lead their country against foreign invasion?" Journalist Amy Spyro wrote on Twitter that the video was shared with happy online viewers. The video has now been viewed more than a million times.
He was involved in the first impeachment of Donald Trump
After accusing the U.S. president of trying to pressure him to investigate his political opponent, Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelenskyy became the central figure in Donald Trump's first impeachment trial in 2019. As the New York Times reported, Republicans are very interested in learning about Hunter Biden's ties to Burisma Holdings, an energy company owned by Ukrainian oligarchs, and whether that has anything to do with the foreign policy of his politician's father. So Trump called Zelenskiy and, in accordance with the impeachment resolution, tried to force him to target the Biden family (via The Wall Street Journal) by threatening to withhold $391 million in aid designed to help Ukraine fend off Russian expansion.
Zelenskiy denied he was pushed onto anything in their phone calls, claiming he had nothing to do with U.S. politics. According to Time, the Ukrainian president told the media: "I think you read everything. I think you read the text. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to participate in democratic open elections in the United States, and no one pushes me."
He also assured reporters that he had no right to tell Ukrainian legal officials who were investigating. "We have an independent state and independent overall security. I can't force anyone," Zelenskiy said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused the chance to escape
As president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was one of the most important and high-profile figures in Russia's ongoing invasion. However, despite Zelenskiy's number one target in the country, he reportedly chose to refuse the opportunity to flee Ukraine safely. As one anonymous source told The Associated Press News, the U.S. government was willing to safely escort Zelenskiy away from the capital Kiev, while U.S. intelligence officials actually "urged" the president to walk with them on Feb. 26, 2022. But Zelenskiy refused their escape. The plan, reportedly telling the American that "he needs anti-tank ammunition," as the media put it, the sources added, "not a free rider." According to the person familiar with the matter, the leader insisted on staying in the Wehrmacht, reportedly saying that ""
To show his contempt, Zelenskiy constantly posted his messages to the public on social media, wearing a simple T-shirt instead of any bulletproof armor. According to The New York Times, while other European leaders feared he was missing from Kiev after a particularly brutal bombing, he assured citizens in a video outside the presidential building that he was "here." "Our army is here, our civil society is here, we are all here," Zelenskiy insisted, as translated by the newspaper. "We are defending our independence, our country, and we will continue to do so."
According to the New York Times, a representative of Zelenskiy's party told the Ukrainian parliament: "The president will stay in office until the end." ”