Russia-Ukraine war: A tale of two 'Vladimirs'-one emerged as a hero, other a despot

Parents of the two men gave their sons a Slavic name ‘of great power,’ Vladimir or Volodymyr, which translates into “Ruler of the world.” Since Vladimir Putin of Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 he has, however, been reviled across most of the world for trying to live up to his name. His principal opponent, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has, meanwhile emerged as a global hero for the spirited fight he is leading to retain his country’s freedom.

Dismissed as a lightweight and a ‘comedian,’ Putin had possibly expected Zelensky to capitulate without a fight. Instead, Zelensky has personally led the Ukrainian resistance and united his country like never before.

Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelensky was born to Jewish scientist parents on 25 January 1978 in Kryvyi Rih, in the then Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. His grandfather, Semyon (Simon), who served in the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War, lost his father and three brothers in the Holocaust. His Jewish ancestry makes Putin’s claims of ‘Nazi’ forces attacking Russians in Ukraine somewhat far-fetched.

There are British media reports that Russian mercenaries have been flown in from Africa to assassinate Zelensky. A private militia known as the Wagner Group, run by oligarch and close Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, allegedly has orders from Putin to take out Zelensky – and 23 other government figures – to allow Moscow to effect a regime change in Ukraine.

However, Kyiv declared a 36-hour ‘hard’ curfew from February 26, ordering everyone indoors so that soldiers could sweep the streets for Russian saboteurs. The mercenaries have been told to wait while Putin allows ‘peace talks’ this week. Indications, however, are that Putin agreed to the talks as a diversion, ‘smoke and mirrors,’ until he can subjugate Ukraine militarily.

A seemingly undeterred Zelensky said in a nationwide address that he was ‘target number one,’ but refused American offers to evacuate him from Kyiv, saying he would lead his country’s resistance. “The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride,” he told the Americans and won over his people. Observers reluctantly admitted that Zelensky could have fled with his family like Ashraf Ghani in Afghanistan, but didn’t.

Zelensky speaks fluent English and Russian. He acquired a law degree from what is now the Kryvyi Rih National University, but never worked as a lawyer. At age 17, he joined the local KVN (a comedy competition) team and soon joined the united Ukrainian team which performed in the KVN's Major League and eventually won in 1997.

He then created and headed the Kvartal 95 team which later transformed into the comedy outfit Kvartal 95. Team members spent a lot of the time in Moscow and toured post-Soviet countries. In 2003, Zelensky turned producer and Kvartal 95 started producing TV shows for Ukrainian TV channels. Zelensky was a member of the board and the general producer of the TV channel Inter.

In 2018, the romantic comedy Love in the Big City 2, starring Zelensky, was banned in Ukraine. After Ukrainian media reported that Zelensky's Kvartal 95 donated 1 million hryvnias to the Ukrainian army during the 2014 Donbas conflict, Russia banned his works in Russia, despite which Zelensky protested against Ukraine’s ban on Russian artists from Ukraine. Zelensky mostly worked in Russian language productions.

Contrary to popular reports, Zelensky was not merely a comedian, but a successful producer who founded a very successful media company. In 2015, Zelensky starred in a television series Servant of the People, where he played the role of Ukraine’s president. Zelensky's character was a high-school history teacher who won presidential election after a viral video showed him ranting against government corruption, like the Hindi movie, Nayak.

Zelensky’s TV production company Kvartal 95 founded the political party Servant of the People in March 2018. Zelensky said he entered politics to restore trust in politicians and he wanted "to bring professional, decent people to power" and “change the mood and timbre of the political establishment.”

Zelensky led and won a successful, almost entirely virtual presidential campaign to unseat President Petro Poroshenko in April 2019. Among Zelensky's campaign promises was that he would serve only one term in office.

(This article was first published in National Herald on Sunday)