Did you know Volodymyr Zelenskyy turned down the opportunity to be evacuated from his country
so that he could stay and fight the Russians?
Zelensky's wartime bravery is why he's now being called a "Modern Winston Churchill."
Here's the true story of Ukraine's President.
If you didn't already know, Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a well-established career as an actor
and comedian before becoming the president of Ukraine in 2019.
Zelenskyy attended the Kryvyi Rih Institute of Economics and received a degree in law.
However, he eventually made a change in his career after breaking into the entertainment
industry.
Zelenskyy's most well-known acting gig was on the hit television show Servant of the
People.
In the show, Zelenskyy portrayed a high school teacher who becomes the president of Ukraine
after a video of him venting about corruption goes viral on the internet.
That sounds pretty fitting considering it somewhat foreshadowed what happened in real
life years later.
Zelenskyy has also been part of some major films in his acting career, including some
voiceover work.
He actually voiced Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian version of Paddington.
StudioCanal, the producer of the 2014 animated film and its 2017 sequel Paddington 2, revealed
that the Ukrainian president did in fact bring the lovable bear to life on the big screen.
"My name is (roar)."
"Beg your pardon?"
"(roar)"
Before becoming Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy had no prior experience working
in politics.
Still, the well-known comedian beat incumbent president Petro Poroshenko in a complete landslide,
scoring more than 73% of the votes.
Although he had very little knowledge or political experience, Zelenskyy still managed to successfully
run the world's first virtual presidential campaign.
So how does one run for president virtually?
Well, according to Politico, Zelenskyy campaigned, but it wasn't face to face.
There weren't any speeches held in person, rallies full of large crowds, press conferences,
or public meetings in town halls.
Zelenskyy was actually still in the process of shooting episodes of his television show,
Servant of the People, at the start of his campaign.
Instead of going along with the typical process, Zelenskyy turned to social media platforms
such as YouTube and Instagram to campaign for president.
Shortly after being elected president of Ukraine in 2019, Volodymyr Zelenskyy found himself
entangled in a scandal with former president Donald Trump.
In August 2019, an anonymous whistleblower filed a formal complaint against Trump about
a phone call he had with Zelenskyy.
"We had, I think, good phone call.
It was normal.
We spoke about many things."
In the complaint, the whistleblower claimed that Trump attempted to encourage Zelenskyy
to look into former vice president Joe Biden and his son's involvement with Ukraine.
The 2020 presidential campaign was already well underway, and Biden was seen as the leading
candidate to face off against Trump in the November 2020 election.
The conversation was reported to have happened shortly after Trump blocked millions of dollars
worth of military aid to Ukraine, but Trump later denied any wrongdoing.
However, due to Trumps' involvement in the scandal, Nancy Pelosi announced that the House
was moving forward with a formal impeachment trial against the then-U.S. president.
Pelosi said in September 2019:
"The president must be held accountable.
No one is above the law."
By December 2019, Trump was officially impeached by the House of Representatives for abuse
of power with a vote of 230 to 197 and obstruction of Congress with a vote of 229 to 198.
As a result, Trump became only the third U.S. president to be impeached.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seen across the world as a war hero for his
immense bravery in fighting for, and alongside, his country against Russia.
Not only is he admired for his leadership by Ukrainian people, but also many Jewish
people as well.
President Zelenskyy comes from a Jewish family and had multiple family members fight during
World War II.
Many of his relatives, including three of his great uncles, lost their lives fighting
the Nazis.
As Russia continues to invade Ukraine, President Zelenskyy has expressed that the behaviors
of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his troops against the Ukrainian people are similar
to the Nazis during WWII.
When discussing the Russian attacks over a Zoom call with the Conference of Presidents
of Major American Jewish Organizations, Zelenskyy described the bombings as, quote, "Pure Nazism."
Zelenskyy said,
"[Putin] is just destroying the citizens of Ukraine of different nationalities.
This is just pure Nazi behavior.
I can't even qualify this in any different manner."
One of the sites that has been attacked by Russian troops is Babyn Yar, a location where
thousands of Jewish people were murdered during the Holocaust.
After the attacks, Zelenskyy tweeted,
"To the world: what is the point of saying 'never again' for 80 years, if the world stays
silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babyn Yar?
At least 5 killed.
History repeating."
In addition to being a well-known comedian across Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
starred in a number of movies and even launched his own production company at the start of
his career in entertainment.
In 1997, Zelenskyy and his comedy group, Kvartal 95, became regular contestants on a Ukrainian
comedy show, Club of the Funny and Inventive People.
Eventually in 2003, the performance group founded their own production company, Studio
Kvartal 95, and became wildly popular across the country.
According to Kvartal 95's official website, the company produces a wide variety of different
services, including animation projects, movies, and TV shows.
In addition to his comedy and producing work, Zelenskyy was also the lead actor in multiple
romantic comedies.
Zelenskyy co-wrote and starred in the No Love in the City movie series, the 2011 film Office
Romance.
Our Time, and 2018's Me.
You.
He.
She.
— just to name a few.
Additionally, the Ukrainian President starred in and co-produced Rzhevsky Versus Napoleon,
playing the lead political leader Napoleon.
In his personal life, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been married to his wife, Olena Zelenska,
for over 19 years.
Zelenskyy and Zelenska met while she was studying architecture and writing at Kryvyi Rih National
University.
The couple dated for eight years before tying the knot back in September 2003.
One year later, the pair welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Oleksandra, in July
2004, and in January 2013, they had their first son, Kyrylo.
Zelenska is involved in screenwriting at Kvartal 95 Studio, her husband's production company.
Zelenska was not very happy when she first learned her husband was interested in running
for president.
In an interview with Vogue Ukraine in 2019, Zelenska shared:
"I realized how everything would change, and what difficulties we would have to face."
She discussed how she originally found out about her husband's presidential campaign
through the media because Zelenskyy simply forgot to tell her.
Zelenska later jokingly said:
"My husband knows how to surprise."
From actor and comedian to future war hero, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has
had an interesting and untraditional rise to success.
Not only has he had major success as a film producer, but he's also taken home a trophy
on a popular dance competition reality show.
Back in 2006, Zelenskyy won Ukraine's version of Dancing with the Stars.
Years later, multiple clips of the president dancing with his partner on the show resurfaced
and went viral on the internet.
The Ukrainian president can be seen in these clips performing multiple routines in a variety
of different dance styles and dressed in colorful, vibrant costumes.
One Twitter user shared a dance reel of all the different routines Zelenskyy performed,
including one during which he and his partner were blindfolded.
If that's not impressive, we don't know what is!
Unlike many world leaders, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been incredibly active across
multiple social media platforms throughout the crisis with Russia.
By using his high-profile Instagram and Facebook pages, he has uploaded countless self-shot
videos while giving live reports and updates from the war zone.
The content of Zelenskyy's videos include multiple announcements of his plans, encouragement
to not give up fighting, and new information for the Ukrainian people.
Zelenskyy has been commended for his communication skills during the invasion, which showcases
his commitment to his country as he stays and fights alongside his troops.
As a former TV actor and comedian, he knows how to passionately speak to a global audience,
and given his success running an entirely virtual campaign, he knows how to convey a
strong message online.
One way Zelenskyy communicates is through self-recorded videos.
Zelenskyy uses these videos to not only demonstrate the condition of Kyiv after multiple bombing
attacks, but also to encourage Ukrainian people to continue fighting during these devastating
times and to not lose hope.
In a video posted to Instagram showing him outside, Zelenskyy said:
"This is our land, our country, our children.
And we will defend all of this."
During his presidential campaign in 2019, one of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's main goals as
president was to crack down on corruption within Ukraine and to fix the country's oligarch
ruling system.
In case you're unfamiliar with the term, oligarchs are business leaders with an enormous amount
of wealth who are associated with powerful people in politics.
Additionally, there are many oligarchs who hold positions of power under Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
Although Zelenskyy won the election in a landslide, there are many people who believed his methods
of eliminating the oligarchy might not work exactly as he planned — not only because
he is an inexperienced politician, but also because of how much power the oligarchs hold.
In his effort to push anti-corruption policies, Zelenskyy even wrote a bill that said:
"There will be no influence on mass media, no influence on politics, no influence on
officials."
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has undoubtedly proven that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
has the natural qualities of a true leader.
Furthermore, the comedy actor turned President has shown that he has what it takes to be
brave during a truly terrifying crisis.
He communicates effectively with his people, is widely respected, and is utterly authentic,
especially online.
Some have even referred to Zelensky as the "modern Winston Churchill" for the way he's
managed this invasion.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John E. Herbst and former CIA officer Paul Kolbe spoke
with People about how Zelenskyy has been doing everything possible to reassure his people
that they will get through this crisis together.
"I love my country."
Kolbe told the outlet:
"[Zelenskyy's] been broadcasting himself, doing selfie takes from the middle of a war
zone, reassuring his countrymen that he's there with them, that he's sharing their danger,
that he's sharing their pain.
And he's channeling their courage and helping to magnify it."
Not only does Zelenskyy have extraordinary qualities of a leader, but his previous role
as an entertainer helped him greatly in this high position, especially when it comes to
delivering strong, emotional, and powerful messages.
Herbst told People:
"He is a world class entertainer.
So he understands the mood of people.
To be an effective comedian, you have to be able to read an audience.
And the public dimension of his work right now is really, really important."
What sticks out the most about President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is his commitment to fighting alongside
his people and not running away from the issue at hand.
He has made it well known throughout the course of the devastating Russian invasion that he
is not intimidated by President Vladimir Putin.
When the United States offered to evacuate him from the city of Kyiv in Ukraine in order
to protect him against Russia's attacks, Zelenskyy turned it down almost immediately, telling
the U.S. government:
"The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride."
"President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is standing firm for democracy and for freedom."
Known for his empowering words, the president received a standing ovation after delivering
a speech to the European Parliament after submitting an application to grant Ukraine
European Union Membership.
Zelensky told the members of Parliament:
"We're fighting for our land and our freedom despite the fact that all our cities are now
blocked.
Nobody is going to break us, we're strong, we're Ukrainians.
[...] Life will win over death.
And light will win over darkness.
Glory be to Ukraine!"
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