CHAPTER 7 ZELENSKY: BOY, MAN, HUSBAND, ACTOR, PRESIDENT

Vladimir Putin’s assertion the invasion (although he never called it that, referring to it as a “special military operation”) of Ukraine was about de-Nazifying the country just didn’t stack up, even if the cocooned Russian public believed the repeated spin that Ukraine was controlled by a cabal of fascists.

More credible was the view that Putin did not want a close neighbor bringing the West-backed North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to its doorstep. President Zelensky preferred to align with Europe, not Russia and its allies, and applied for NATO membership.

Allied to that was Putin’s view that parts of Ukraine were Russian and should be part of Russia.

The Nazism claims seemed to strike a chord with Russians who had been reminded by Putin of the Soviet Union’s role in putting down Nazi aggression in World War II, when millions of Jews were put to death. It was also repeated abroad by Russian diplomatic missions, including Russia’s embassy in South Africa.

South Africa was among 17 African nations to abstain from voting on a UN General Assembly resolution calling for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine.

The Russian embassy in Pretoria claimed on its Twitter account to have “received a great number of letters of solidarity from South Africans, both individuals and organisations… we appreciate your support and glad you decided to stand with us today, when Russia, like 80 years ago, is fighting Nazism in Ukraine.”

The embassy’s claims reflected those made by Putin when he announced his “special military operation” on February 24, 2022.

Putin insisted his aims were to “demilitarize and de-nazify” Ukraine — a reference to narratives the Kremlin had long propagated in its bid to de-legitimize the Kyiv leadership — in order to “protect” Russian-speakers “subjected to bullying and genocide” in the Donbas.

Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz branded Mr Putin’s claims of a genocide in eastern Ukraine “ridiculous.”

Like most countries, Ukraine had its extremists, and they would include neo-Nazis.

Volodymyr Zelensky’s life story means the answer would be no.

To begin with, he is Jewish, the first Jew to lead his country. He lost family members during the Holocaust. The Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal also is Jewish.

The Ukraine government in February 2022 enacted legislation criminalizing antisemitism, in response to a rise in antisemitic vandalism and far-right violence. Who is Volodymyr Zelensky?

Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelensky was born to Jewish parents on January 25, 1978 in the industrial center of Kryvyy Rih, southern Ukraine, then part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

His father, Oleksandr Zelensky, was a professor and the head of the Department of Cybernetics and Computing Hardware at the Kryvyi Rih State University of Economics and Technology; his mother, Rymma Zelenska, was an engineer. His grandfather, Semyon (Simon) Ivanovych Zelensky, served in the Red Army (in the 57th Guards Motor Rifle Division) during World War II; Semyon’s father and three brothers were murdered in the Holocaust.

When a child, Volodymyr’s family relocated to Erdenet, Mongolia, for four years before returning to Kryvyy Rih, where he began school.

As did many people from Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, he grew up as a native Russian speaker. But he also became fluent in Ukrainian and aged 16 passed the Test of English as a Foreign Language. He received an education grant to study in Israel, but his father did not let him to go.

In 1995 he began studies at Kryvyy Rih Economic Institute, a campus of Kyiv National Economic University. He graduated with a law degree and that’s where his career appeared to be heading.

But he was also attracted to theatre, forming a group of performers in 1977. They were known as Kvartal 95 (“Quarter 95,” the neighborhood in central Kryvyy Rih where he spent his childhood) and appeared in the televised finals of KVN (“Club of the Funny and Inventive People”), an improvisational comedy competition televised throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Zelensky and Kvartal 95 became regulars on KVN until 2003 when he co-founded Studio Kvartal 95, a production company that became one of Ukraine’s most successful entertainment studios.

In September 2003 he also married Olena Kiyashko. The pair met at university where she studied architecture and creative writing.

A daughter, Oleksandar, was born in July 2004. She, too, has a taste for acting and appeared in the 2014 movie 8 New Dates in which she played the protagonist’s daughter, Sasha.

In 2016, Oleksandra won 50,000 hryvnias (about $US 1,600) in a show called The Comedy Comedy’s Kids.

In 2006 Zelensky appeared on the Russian version of Dancing with the Stars. He won. He also voiced Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian release of the animated film.

The Zelenskys’ second child, a son named Cyril, was born in January 2013.

Volodymyr Zelensky was artistic director of Kvartal 95 until 2011, when he was appointed general producer of the Ukrainian television channel Inter TV.

He left Inter TV in 2012, and in October that year he and Kvartal 95 signed a joint production agreement with the Ukrainian network 1+1.

The network owner was Ihor Kolomoisky, one of the wealthiest people in Ukraine.

The relationship between Zelensky and Kolomoisky came under scrutiny when Zelensky announced his entry into politics. Was Zelensky a puppet of the rich?

As well as television, Zelensky appeared in feature films, including the historical farce Rzhevskiy Versus Napoleon (2012) and the romantic comedies 8 First Dates (2012) and 8 New Dates (2015).

In 2013 Zelensky returned to Kvartal 95 as artistic director. But Ukrainian politics was about to go through an upheaval.

In February 2014 President Viktor Yanukovych’s government fell after months of mass protests. In May billionaire Petro Poroshenko was elected president.

It was during this period of apparent instability that Russia made its first serious move towards Ukraine.

With a Russian-backed insurgency raging in eastern Ukraine and corruption undermining public confidence in government, Poroshenko struggled to enact even the most straightforward reforms.

Zelensky, obviously influenced by these events, launched a show called Servant of the People on 1+1 in October 2015. His wife, Olena, was a writer on the episodes.

Zelensky cast himself as Vasiliy Goloborodko, a history teacher who became a viral Internet phenomenon after a student filmed him delivering an impassioned and profanity-laden address against official corruption.

The show was a huge hit. Goloborodko’s unlikely path to the presidency of Ukraine in the show was later seen as a blueprint for Zelensky’s entry into politics. In 2018 Kvartal 95 officially registered “Servant of the People” as a political party in Ukraine.

The 2019 presidential election saw a field of more than three dozen candidates. Zelensky, from the Servant of the People, was one.

On March 31, 2019, Zelensky won more than 30% of the vote in the first round of the presidential election. Incumbent Poroshenko had 16%.

Zelensky did not debate Poroshenko until two days before the second round of polling started. On April 19, 2019, tens of thousands gathered at Kyiv’s Olympic Stadium to see the confrontation and, although Poroshenko attempted to portray Zelensky as a political novice who lacked the fortitude to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin, he failed to make any inroads into voter sentiment. A second debate the next day did not go ahead.

On April 21, Zelensky was elected president in a landslide, with 73% of the vote. He was sworn in on May 20, 2019. Life had imitated art.

Four years before, he was one of Ukraine’s most popular TV comedians, starring in a satirical TV show and performing in a troupe where he and another man appeared to play a piano with their genitals for five minutes (the full view was obscured).

Video of that performance went viral on YouTube, as did episodes of Servant of the People, which was belatedly picked up by various TV networks, including Channel 4 in the UK.

Aged 44, Volodymyr Zelensky was President, his country firmly in the sights of Russian aggressors.

Ukraine election 2019

Population: 43.9m

GDP per capita: $US 8,800

GDP growth: 2.5%

Ethnic Ukrainians (est): 78%

Ethnic Russians (est.): 17%

Unemployment (est.): 9.2%

Voter turnout 2029: 62.09%

Vote: Zelensky 73.22 %, Prooshenko 24.45 %

Source: BBC and CIA World Factbook

Political parties in Ukraine fall into two major movements — the pro-Western, pro-European, anti-Russian group, of which Zelensky’s Servant of the People is the predominant. Others in this group include European Solidarity, Golos (Voice), Radical Party, Strength and Honor and six others, the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR) among them.

UDAR’s leader, Ukraine’s retired professional heavyweight boxer Vitali Klitschko, is perhaps the most familiar of these in the West, often appearing in TV news reports.

Opposing these parties are the half dozen pro-Russian parties, such as Opposition Platform — For Life and Our Land.

Ideology is not the main driver of these parties, and they all represent a variety of ideologies.

Of the 450 seats in Parliament, 254 are held by Servant of the People, with 25 seats held by the pro-Western European Solidarity and 26 by also pro-Western Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party. The pro-Russian Opposition Platform holds 43.

Despite the number of candidates, the 2019 presidential election boiled down to a contest between the comedian and the incumbent tycoon — Zelensky and Poroshenko.

Poroshenko pledged to resist Russian aggression. He said the election was no less important than that of 2014, which followed the ousting of a pro-Russian administration.

After the election, Zelensky was the one who faced the Russian might.

Zelensky was favorite to win in the opinion polls as the final round of voting approached — he had dominated the first round of voting three weeks previously when 39 candidates were on the ballot.

Poroshenko, a billionaire who made his fortune mainly through his confectionery and TV businesses, was elected in 2014 after an uprising overthrew the previous pro-Russian government.

Before the polls opened, there was a court challenge; a man had claimed the distribution of free tickets for a presidential debate by Volodymyr Zelensky’s supporters amounted to bribery and called on the court to bar Zelensky from standing. The challenge was rejected.

Zelensky mainly used social media to communicate with the voting public.

He shunned official rallies or political speeches but put out lots of cheerful videos on social media.

He had no previous political experience (apart from his acting role) and his campaign focused on his difference to others rather than on any concrete policy ideas.

“No promises, no disappointment” was one of his statements.

Poroshenko had a more established network on the ground and the support of administrators across the country.

Yet, Zelensky won the first round with more than 30% of the vote — almost double that of Poroshenko.

Pre-poll surveys showed Ukrainians were seriously dissatisfied with politicians who were widely regarded as corrupt and in the pockets of oligarchs — very rich business leaders with great political influence.

The choice for voters was whether to stick to what they’d had for the past five years in Poroshenko or take a leap into the unknown with Zelenksy, who had not espoused any significant policies other than to clean-up Ukrainian politics by promising to stamp out corruption and loosen the grip of the oligarchs.

The latter pledge raised a few eyebrows as he was backed by billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky, possibly Ukraine’s most controversial oligarch.

All Zelensky’s TV shows aired on one of Ukraine’s most popular TV channels 1+1, owned by Kolomoisky. At the time of the election, Klomoisky was in self-imposed exile in Israel while several investigations into his business dealings were under way in Ukraine. The President

Volodymyr Zelensky was sworn in as the sixth president of Ukraine on May 20, 2019.

In his inauguration speech, the new President said his then six-year-old son had asked if the announcement that “Zelensky is president” meant that he was too. Although he dismissed it as a child’s joke at first, Zelensky said he later understood it as the truth.

“Because every one of us is the president now,” he said.

“It’s not mine, it’s our common victory, and it’s our common chance for which we take shared responsibility. And now it wasn’t just me who took the oath. Each of us put a hand on the constitution and each of us swore loyalty to Ukraine.

“Imagine screaming headlines: ‘President doesn’t pay taxes’, ‘President drunk rushed through red lights’, ‘President steals a little’. But everybody does the same. You sure agree it is a shame, and that is what I mean when I say that every one of us is the president.

“Starting today, every one of us bears responsibility for Ukraine which we will leave to our children. Each of us, in our places, can do something for the development of Ukraine. A European country starts with everyone. Yes, we have chosen a (political) direction to Europe, but Europe is not somewhere there, Europe is here (pointing to his head). And when Europe is here, it will come to our country. It will be in Ukraine.

“This is our shared dream, but we have shared pains. Each of us died in the Donbas. Every day we lose one of us, and each of us is internally displaced. Those who lost their own homes and those who in turn, opened the doors of their homes, sharing this pain. And each of us is a migrant worker. Those who didn’t manage to find their place at home but found earnings in a foreign country. Those who, fighting poverty, had to lose their dignity. But we will overcome all of this, for each of us is a Ukrainian.

“We are all Ukrainians. There’s no less of a Ukrainian or more of a Ukrainian, the right Ukrainian or wrong Ukrainian, we are all Ukrainians. From Uzhhhorod to Luhansk, from Chernihiv to Simferopol, in Lviv, Kharkiv, in Donetsk, Dnipro, and Odessa — we are all Ukrainians.”

Within days, President Zelensky faced his first foreign policy challenge when Russia’s President Putin announced he would offer Russian passports to the Ukrainian citizens in separatist-controlled areas of war-torn eastern Ukraine.

The Russian-backed conflict there was five years old and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians had been displaced.

Zelensky ridiculed the offer and responded on social platform Facebook that he would extend Ukrainian citizenship to Russians and others “who suffer from authoritarian or corrupt regimes.”

His next task was to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine Supreme Council), necessary as his personal victory did not come with a legislative mandate as Servant of the People did not hold any seats in parliament.

Snap elections were held on July 21, Zelensky saying the contest was “maybe more important than the presidential election.”

Servant of the People won an absolute majority — 254 of 450 seats (26 seats, representing Crimea — a Ukrainian autonomous republic that was annexed by Russia in 2014 — and the war zone in the east, were not contested).

It was the first time in Ukraine’s post-Soviet history that a single party commanded absolute control over the legislative process.

Ties to President Zelensky’s former business partner again were scrutinized. Kolomoisky’s media empire provided a platform for Zelensky during the presidential campaign, but Zelensky vowed that no special favors would be granted.

Kolomoisky had returned to Ukraine just before the inauguration; the billionaire giving an assurance he would not act as a “grey cardinal,” directing policy from off-stage.

Polling by the Ratings Sociological Group showed that by December 2021, just 31% of Ukrainians approved of President Zelensky.

By March 2022, two weeks after the Russian invasion began, Zelensky’s approval rating almost tripled to more than 90%.

In the lead-up to the December 2019 opinion poll, there were doubts whether the 44-year-old had the political nous to lead the country during an existential crisis.

That changed just before the Russian invasion began in February 2022, when the man who had been a comedian put on a serious face of a wartime leader to tell Russia: “When you attack us you will see our faces, not our backs, but our faces.”

It was the first real indication that Russia would be confronted by a Ukrainian leader who was not going to be a “pushover” and who had massive support at home and abroad.

According to Newsweek magazine, quoting the President’s office, the leader survived around a dozen assassination attempts in the first two weeks of the Russian invasion.

Mikhail Podolyak, head of the office for the President, said international reports that three attempts have been made against Zelensky’s life were false. He said: “Our foreign partners are talking about two or three attempts. I believe that there were more than a dozen such attempts.”

President Zelensky rejected the notion by some media commentators that he was similar to King Leonidas of the Spartans, who faced down the Persians at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.

“I don’t want Ukraine’s history to be a legend about 300 Spartans. I want peace,” he declared, adding that he didn’t even want to lose the battle in order to eventually win the war — as the Spartans did. “We are on our land. We are ready for anything.” The First Lady

When her husband first expressed an interest in real-life politics, Olena was “aggressively opposed” to the idea, reports said. She admitted she was skeptical.

“When I was told that it would happen, I was already prepared to have little changes in my and family life. I can spoil the mood, do not support, put obstacles, but it’s not constructive… I try to keep myself, calm down. So far, it seems that I can do it,” she said in an interview with Opinionua.com.

She described herself as primarily supporting her husband: “So far, I’ve taken time out in order not to think about it. I know this is a difficult role… In general, the First Lady does not have to take any main roles. This tandem should repeat what is happening in the family. We have the leader and I try to support him. When someone takes responsibility — it’s very convenient, so I try not to drag too much attention to myself.”

In an interview with the magazine Vogue Ukraine, she said: “I am a non-public person. But the new realities [being First Lady] require their own rules, and I’m trying to comply with them.”

Olena first found out about her husband’s candidacy on social media. She told Vogue she said to him: “Why didn’t you tell me?” His response: “I forgot.”

Olena was with her husband during his electioneering.

With her husband winning the presidency, Olena became one of Ukraine’s most influential people, and in December 2019 she took part in Ukraine’s entry to the G7 international initiative on gender equality, the Biarritz Partnership.

She told Vogue: “Life hasn’t changed, but circumstances have. I do not have enough time alone with myself. I have got two kids, so I have rarely been alone before. I probably have had my only private space in the car, while driving.

“Now they have deprived me of this — I am always guarded. Now a bathroom is my only retreat. But I am lucky with people who are in my personal space now: they keep silence when I need this silence and can maintain a conversation when they feel that it’s necessary.”

Despite her comments about staying calm, Olena Zelenska has been most forthright in speaking out about Russian aggression.

On March 6, 2022, she shared photos on Instagram of five children who died during Russia’s attacks.

“I appeal to all the unbiased media in the world! Tell this terrible truth: Russian invaders are killing Ukrainian children,” she wrote.

“Tell it to Russian mothers — let them know what exactly their sons are doing here, in Ukraine. Show these photos to Russian women — your husbands, brothers, compatriots are killing Ukrainian children! Let them know that they are personally responsible for the death of every Ukrainian child because they gave their tacit consent to these crimes.”

She shared multiple posts in different languages, sharing photos of children. Her post: “The Russian occupiers are killing Ukrainian children. Consciously and cynically.

“18-month-old Kirill from Mariupol was urgently taken to the hospital by his parents. He was wounded by the shelling, and doctors could do nothing.

“Alice from Okhtyrka. She could have turned eight years old. However, she died in the shelling with her grandfather, who was protecting her.

“Polina from Kyiv. She died during the shelling on the streets of our capital, along with her parents and brother. Her sister is in critical condition.

“Arseniy, 14 years old. A fragment of the projectile hit his head. The medics could not reach the boy under the gunfire. Arseniy bled to death.

“Sofia, six years old. She, along with her one-and-half-month-old brother, mother, grandmother and grandfather, were shot to death in their car. The family tried to leave Nova Kakhovka.

“I have to tell you about it. At least 38 children have already died in Ukraine. And this figure might be increasing this very moment due to the shelling of our peaceful cities!

“When people in Russia say that their troops are not hurting the civilian population, show them these pictures! Show them the faces of these children who weren’t even given a chance to grow up. How many more children must die to convince Russian troops to stop firing and allow humanitarian corridors?

“We need corridors in the hottest cities in Ukraine right now! Hundreds of children die there in basements without food and medical care. Russian soldiers shoot families who try to leave the buildings. They also kill volunteers who try to help.

“I appeal to all the unbiased media in the world!

“To NATO countries: close the sky over Ukraine! Save our children, because tomorrow it will save yours! #NoFlyZoneUA #closeUAskyNOW #NATOclosethesky #stoprussia.”

Olena Zalenska has been in contact with other First Ladies around the world. Another post: “The First Ladies are asking me these days how they can help Ukraine. My answer is — tell the truth to the world!” she wrote. “Speak up! What is happening in Ukraine is not a ‘special military operation,’ as Putin says, but a full-scale war, where the aggressor is the Russian Federation.”