Zelensky

Ukraine's President and His Country

Steven Derix, Marina Shelkunova

• Publisher: Canbury
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781912454785
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

Vladimir Putin rarely underestimates his opponent.At the KGB Academy in Leningrad, he learned themeticulous art of profiling 'targets' of the service, whetherthey were Russian dissidents or East German Communistapparatchiks.

Before meeting with anybody, Putin first analyses theirstrengths and weaknesses. During his first visit to the UnitedStates, he wound President George W. Bush around his littlefinger, with pious tales of his christening in the RussianOrthodox Church. Afterwards, an obviously charmed Bushtold of how he had looked into the 'soul' of the former KGBofficer. When German Chancellor Angela Merkel visitedSochi in 2007 to discuss energy policy, Putin had his blacklabrador Konni brought in. Merkel – who is terrified ofdogs – dared not budge an inch, and Putin dominated theconversation.

Vladimir Putin also carefully considers way he talks aboutpeople. The Russian President is only too aware of the politicalappeal of Alexey Navalny, and will therefore never allow thename of the opposition leader to cross his lips – not even sinceNavalny's incarceration in January 2021. Putin's spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, consistently refers to Navalny as 'that blogger.'

***

In April 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky was elected as the sixthPresident of Ukraine, with nearly three-quarters of the vote.

One month later, the Russian President attended the WorldEconomic Forum in St. Petersburg. It had been five years sinceRussia's annexation of Crimea but daily skirmishes betweenthe Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatists were stillcommonplace in eastern Ukraine.

'Why did you not congratulate Volodymyr Zelenksy when hebecame President?' asked the interviewer.

Putin breathed a heavy sigh. The Russian officials and businessmagnates in the room playfully nudged one another: this wasgoing to be good.

'You know, ' said Putin, 'he is still pushing a certain rhetoric.He labels us "enemies" and "aggressors." Perhaps he should thinkabout what he really wants to achieve, what he wants to do.'

Putin had still not once uttered the name 'Zelensky.'

'You are the President of a world power, ' the interviewerfawned, 'and right now, he is incredibly popular in his country.Both of you could start with a clean slate. Even a small gesturemight completely change the course of world history. Why notsimply arrange a meeting?'

Putin gave the enormous hall an almost pitying look, andwaited until the sniggering from the officials and businesspeoplehad died down.

'Did I say "no"?' replied Putin. With a snide grin, he added:

'Nobody has invited me.'

'Are you prepared to meet with him?'

Putin now looked genuinely amused. 'Listen, I do not knowthis man. I hope that we can meet one day. As far as I can tell, he's amazing at what he does, he's a marvellous actor.'

Laughter and generous applause filled the room.

Putin continued: 'But seriously: it's one thing to play aperson, but quite another thing to be that person.'

The blue-suited officials knew exactly what Putin meant.The Ukrainian President had started his career as a comic actorand comedian. From 2015-2019, Zelensky was the star of theUkrainian hit series Servant of the People. He played historyteacher Vasyl Holoborodko, who after a long day of teachinglaunches into a tirade against all of the injustices in Ukraine: corruption, broken election promises, stagnation and poverty, and the tax privileges, dachas, and motorcycle escorts enjoyedby the political class.

A student secretly films Holoborodko's damning speech, and puts the video online. The tirade goes viral, and the younghistory teacher – who still lives with his parents – is invited togo into politics. He wins with a landslide victory, becomingthe first ever Ukrainian head of state who cycles to work.Holoborodko turns the political world upside-down, steeringthe country towards a glorious future. The series tapped into aclassic populist theme, that of the political outsider who makesshort work of the 'old regime.' In 2019, the final season of Servant of the People blended seamlessly into a slick electioncampaign for the soon-to-be President. Servant of the People( Sluha Narodu ) became the name of Zelensky's political party, which won an absolute majority later that year in the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.

Putin was right about one thing: until that time, Zelenskyhad only ever played the President.

The former showman was now placed at the helm ofa bankrupt country – a nation at war with a political andadministrative system that was corrupt to the core. In the 30years of independence since the disintegration of the SovietUnion, Ukraine had been unable to disentangle itself from thechaos that gripped the country in 1991. Zelensky promised tosolve all the problems within a single, five-year term.

Many thought that he would fail. Within months of hiselection, Zelensky's reform programme had ground to ahalt, resulting in a life-and-death battle with the all-powerfuloligarchs. To survive within the Ukrainian House of Cards, Zelensky resorted to unconventional means.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Al Pacino
• Chapter 2: Bad Neighbours
• Chapter 3: The Comedy Factory
• Chapter 4: Maidan
• Chapter 5: Servant of the People
• Chapter 6: The Turbo Regime
• Chapter 7: Confrontation
• Chapter 8: The Wartime President
• A Note on Sources
• Bibliography
• Copyright