President Volodymyr Zelensky
Image Source: Times of India
On Thursday, Ukraine and the world looked at President Volodymyr Zelensky as Russia launched a ‘special military operation’ against Ukraine. The resident found himself in the middle of a war which was not been seen since World War 2.
He had agreed to give weapons to anyone who was willing to fight the aggressors and was willing to stay back for his country. On Saturday he had refused American help to get himself evacuated from Ukraine. He said in a viral video that everyone was there to fight for the country and that the country would remain that way.
However, did you know that Mr Zelensky had no background in politics before he became president? Mr Zelensky became the president of the country three years ago. However, before assuming the president’s role, he acted as a president in a TV show in the same year.
Volodymyr Olesandrovych Zelensky was born on 25th January 1985 in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. During the period, Ukraine was under the Soviet Union. He was born to Jewish parents, which made him a minority in the region. He also speaks Russian fluently.
Mr Zelensky completed his schooling in Kryvry Rih and later attended the Kryvry Rih Institute of Economics. The institute was a department of the Kyiv National Economic University and it is a part of the Kryvry Rih National University. He had graduated with a law degree, but he had never worked in the legal field.
Mr Zelensky instead went into the entertainment field by becoming a comedian first. He spent many years working with the Kvartal 95, a comedy troupe. He also has starred in several TV series and movies.
His most remarkable role was in the TV show, Servant of the People. The show aired between 2015 and 2019. In the show, Mr Zelensky played a high-school history teacher in his 30s who wins the presidential elections after a viral video showed him ranting against the Ukrainian government. The show greatly portrayed the corruption in the Ukrainian government and soon became a huge hit among the people of the country.
President Zelensky in ‘Servant of the People’ before he was elected as the president.
Image Source: BBC
When the show ended in 2019, Mr Zelensky announced his candidature for the presidential position. Mr Zelensky inherited a country rife with corruption, political instability, and geopolitical instability when he took the oath of office as president. So far, he has done a remarkable job to fend off the Russian invaders and rally his people to fight for the country. A trait that is extremely rare to see in modern times.
Fun Fact: Putin has referred to Ukrainians as “neo-nazis and a bunch of addicts,” but President Zelensky’s grandfather (a Jew) fought the Nazis by joining the Red Army.
References: Business Today.
