Tit-for-tat political games, bone-deep corruption issues, when everything moves from the screen into reality...
For nearly four years as Ukrainian President , Zelensky has never been able to shed the label of an actor.
Once upon a time, this Ukrainian Jew was a well-known comedian in the former Soviet Union.
As early as 2015, the movie "Servant of the People " won him a lot of praise. Zelensky played the "civilian president" Vasya in the play to punish corruption and implement reforms. In reality, the Ukrainian people even The "Movement to Make Vasya President" was launched.
▲ "Servant of the People"
Vasya was originally a teacher who was dissatisfied with the current situation in Ukraine
Zelensky himself took advantage of the opportunity to enter the political arena. Defeated Poroshenko in the 2019 general election, bringing the plot of "Servant of the People" into reality.
▲Vasya’s complaints
After the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, Zelensky frequently had diplomatic interactions with Western dignitaries, and also used his experience as an actor and social media to successfully attract the attention of Western people to Ukraine.
, the youngest president in the history of Ukraine, is he an "international internet celebrity" who is good at performing? Or the "heroic president" who saved Ukraine?
▲Actor? president?
1. Jewish boy
In 1978, Zelensky was born in Krivoy Rog in the Soviet Union’s Ukrainian Republic. In 1982, 4-year-old Zelensky followed his parents to Erdenet support in Mongolia. construction.
Although Erdenet is the third largest city in Mongolia, its population was only 70,000 in the 1980s. It cannot be compared with Krivoy Rog, which has a population of 600,000. Compared with first-tier cities in the Soviet Union such as Moscow, there is a huge difference.
▲Erdente
As for his hometown of Ukraine, Zelensky had a vague impression of it in his childhood. My father clearly remembers that Ukraine’s vast black soil produces 25% of the country’s grain (approximately 40 million tons) every year.
The industrial system established after World War II made Ukraine an important military industrial base of the Soviet Union, with almost all military equipment production capabilities except fighter jets . Ukraine has also become the cornerstone of the Soviet Union's struggle for global hegemony.
On the other hand, Mongolia, apart from the vast Gobi desert, is just continuous grassland, which is really incomparable with Ukraine, which has developed industry and agriculture.
▲Ukraine’s military factory
In 1986, Zelensky’s father ended his assignment and the family set off to return to the Soviet Union. When the family left the Soviet Union, Brezhnev was still at the helm of the country.
In just 4 years, the leadership of the Soviet Union underwent three adjustments. When Zelensky returned to the country, Gorbachev became the new leader of the Soviet Union.
The long-term game with the United States and the war in Afghanistan rapidly consumed the Soviet Union's limited national power, and the rigid economic system greatly affected people's lives. In 1991, the powerful Soviet Union collapsed and was replaced. The Zelenskiy family received new identities - Ukrainian citizens.
Zelensky was only 13 years old at this time. For a child of this age, he had not yet realized the profound impact of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. All he felt was the addition of Ukrainian courses in the school.
During the Soviet period, Russian was the common language of the entire country. In order to speed up the construction of Ukraine, the Soviet government moved a large number of Russian technical talents to Ukraine, and Ukraine also established a large number of Russian schools.
▲There are also a large number of ethnic Russians in Ukraine.
By 1991, the population of Ukraine was 52 million, and Ukrainians accounted for more than 75% of the total population. The Russian ethnic group is also close to 20%, mainly living in eastern Ukraine.
The Zelenskys speak Russian and are not familiar with Ukrainian. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russian still maintained its status as a lingua franca in Ukraine due to Russia's profound historical influence on Ukraine. However, Ukraine is increasingly emphasizing its identity as a nation-state and constantly enhancing the status of the Ukrainian language.
▲Teared Ukraine
As Ukrainian Jews, the Zelensky family does not need to consider who to support between the Russian and Ukrainian communities. In 1994, 16-year-old Zelensky passed the TOEFL exam. When he told his father about his plan to study in Israel, his father was not as happy as he imagined.
"Varodia, your mother and I still want you to stay in Ukraine and go to university."
The father put the TOEFL transcript on the table and said to Zelensky seriously.
"We are Jews, and many of my Jewish friends have immigrated to Israel. If I go to university there, it may help our family live a better life!"
Zelensky tried to fight against his father.
▲Jews in the Soviet Union
As an exiled nation, Jews entered the Slavic settlements in Eastern Europe as early as the 8th century AD. After the 18th century, due to the continuous anti-Semitic wave in Western European countries, a large number of Jews poured into Tsarist Russia.
After the founding of the state of Israel in 1947, a large number of Jews moved to Israel from all over the world, including Soviet Jews.
By 1989, there were 1.72 million Jews remaining in the Soviet Union, 486,000 of whom lived in Ukraine. Although Jews only account for 1% of the Ukrainian population, 20% of Ukrainian intellectual positions such as doctors, researchers, and teachers are occupied by Jews.
▲ Jews were once the 16th largest ethnic group in the Soviet Union
Zelensky followed his parents’ advice and studied law at Kiev National Economic University where his father worked. But after graduating from college, Zelensky decided that he did not like being a lawyer, and his parents did not interfere with him. Zelensky participated in comedy performances during college and achieved good results. He decided to become a comedian.
After Ukraine became independent, it imitated the West and established a representative government system, and its economy and society began to move closer to the West. Under the influence of liberal policies, the social atmosphere in Ukraine has gradually become more relaxed, and there are more and more Westernized entertainment programs.
In 1997, Zelensky decided to set up a comedy team named after the 95th neighborhood where he lived.
Zelensky's comedy talent quickly emerged. "5 Block " was mainly performed in Russian and gained a large number of fans in the former Soviet Union.
Russia’s KVN TV station saw the potential of “Block 95” and signed Zelensky. Zelensky is also sought after by Ukrainians as a model of "cultural export".
Zelensky’s popularity attracted the attention of a Ukrainian oligarch .
▲ Zelensky on the stage
2. Whose public servant?
One day in 2002, Zelensky received an invitation letter. When he saw the content, Zelensky couldn’t believe his eyes.
He shouted excitedly:
"Guys! It's an invitation letter from the 1+1 channel! I hope to sign a contract with us!"
"1+1 Media Group" is the main private media in Ukraine, with 7 exclusive channels and signal coverage It is very popular among Ukrainian people throughout Ukraine. The group is controlled by Ukrainian media giant Igor Kolomoisky.
▲ Kolomoisky
After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, driven by economic liberalization policies, a large number of state-owned enterprises were acquired by private parties.Monopolistic oligarchs such as "Gas Princess" Tymoshenko, "Chocolate King" Poroshenko, Akhmetov and Medvedchuk have emerged.
The living standards of the Ukrainian people are stagnating, but the oligarchs are rapidly accumulating wealth by reselling state-owned assets.
▲ Tymoshenko, who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine
Kolomoisky is also a Ukrainian Jew and has been in business since 1988. After 1991, he and his business partners raised funds to acquire a number of large state-owned enterprises including steel and petroleum smelting.
Like other oligarchs, Kolomoisky also uses the funds in his hands to support political forces and protect his own interests by interfering in politics.
Koch also invested in finance and founded Privat Bank. The bank has gradually developed into Ukraine's largest private bank, with 60% of Ukrainian nationals having deposits in this bank.
▲ 40% of Ukraine’s oil imports and exports are also in the hands of Kolomoisky
After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia and Ukraine and other countries adopted the " shock therapy " provided by Western economists. In addition to bringing people's lives to the bottom, this has not allowed the Russian-Ukrainian economy to bottom out.
More and more Ukrainians hope to integrate into the wealthy West. Once this tendency becomes a reality, it will inevitably damage Russia's strategic interests, and Russia-Ukraine relations will be affected.
▲ Ukraine has become a gaming field
In this context, Zelensky is considering shifting the focus of development. In 2003, "Block 95" bid farewell to Russian KVN and instead embraced Kolomoisky's lap. In the same year, "Block 95" was registered with the Ukrainian government and transformed into a professional production company.
After the 2004 election, the pro-Western Yushchenko came to power. He successively provoked Russia on issues such as the use of Crimea bases and natural gas transit fees. Even if Russia puts pressure on Ukraine militarily and diplomatically.
Yushchenko is still actively in contact with the European Union and the United States, and is preparing to fully turn to the West. The Russians in Ukraine also strongly opposed this, and Ukrainian society began to tear apart.
▲Ukraine cannot do without Russian natural gas
Zelensky is concerned about the changes in the situation, but as an actor, he is powerless in international relations. He only hopes that Russia and Ukraine can handle their differences peacefully.
Because there are a large number of Russians and Ukrainians among his fans, once the conflict between Russia and Ukraine intensifies, as an artist Zelensky can only choose sides.
As the person in charge of the company, the increasing expenses also give Zelensky a headache. As the inflation rate continued to rise, Zelensky had to increase wages to meet the basic living needs of employees.
When he saw a report that 150,000 tons of grain were lost in the Ukrainian national grain depot, he shouted angrily:
"The officials actually said that rats had eaten so much grain! This is enough to weigh 2,700 wagons! I Raising wages can only keep employees fed. These terrible worms are still saying things that even kindergarten children will not believe. The corruption in Ukraine has penetrated deep into the bones."
▲People threw money to protest against government corruption
Fortunately, after defecting to Kolomoisky, with the support of the 1+1 channel, Zelensky’s comedy was as popular as ever among people in Russian-speaking areas.
In 2006, Zelensky’s team moved from the stage to television. The “electric shock” injected Zelensky with new development energy. Since 2008, he has appeared in films such as "Love in the Metropolis" and "8 Blind Dates".
Zelensky’s career is going smoothly, but President Yushchenko, who is bent on heading west, failed to be re-elected. The policy of completely leaning towards the West harmed the interests of some people. The pro-Russian Yanukovych made a comeback and was elected as the president of Ukraine in 2010.
▲Yanukovych
Zelensky is worried about Yanukovych coming to power. He said helplessly to his colleagues:
"Yanukovych is the fourth president of Ukraine. The first two presidents were playing Tai Chi between the United States and Russia. Yushchenko fell to the West, and Yanukovych fell again. Come back! The cultural industry is affected by politics! We have to choose between pro-Russian and pro-European audiences.”
Colleagues put forward different views:
"This is a process that must be experienced. The three Baltic countries are also members of the former Soviet Union. They joined the EU in 2004 and their transformation has been very successful."
Zelensky shook his head:
"They are a small country with a population of one million. Even so, they have carried out 31 reforms at the economic and social level. Ukraine is a large country with a population of nearly 50 million. Not only is the reform difficult, but Russia will not Let us turn to the West."
Sure enough, Yanukovych turned to Russia again. In 2013, Aristotle canceled the signing of the cooperation agreement with the EU and stopped Ukraine's progress in joining the EU, which angered pro-Europeans in Ukraine.
▲ Demonstrations
Pro-Europeans and pro-Russian people clashed fiercely. Yanukovych went into exile in Russia amid the protests. Russia directly dismembered Ukraine for its own interests and annexed the geographically important Crimea in 2014.
Yanukovych stepped down, but Zelensky was still not happy. He knows that the biggest problem in Ukraine is the corruption of the oligopoly economy and bureaucratic system. When Yanukovych is gone, other oligarchs will come up.
▲ Yanukovych and Ukraine’s richest man Akhmetov
After 2010, Zelensky shot a number of movies one after another. With Kolomoisky's help, he became an independent producer of radio programs and established his own niche in the Ukrainian entertainment industry.
Zelensky has always wanted to film a TV series that ridicules corruption in Ukrainian officialdom. After accumulating experience and connections, Zelensky decided to put the plan into action.
The play was written by Zelensky's wife Yelena (originally the screenwriter of 95 Block) and officially started filming in 2014.
▲Zelensky and his wife
In 2015, "1+1 Channel" launched this political satire called "Servant of the People". The exciting plot soon made Ukrainians unable to stop.
The protagonist "Vasya" is played by Zelensky. As a history teacher, Vasya was outraged when his students were called in class for no apparent reason to set up polling stations for the general election.
"For how many years, we can only choose one of two fools to be the president. If there is a chance for me to go there (Presidential Palace) for a week... I will let all the privileged people get out...".
Vasya "vomited fragrance", and this scene happened to be photographed by a student and uploaded to the Internet. Vasya's complaints aroused people's resonance. The good students simply encouraged Vasya to participate in the presidential election, and even raised 2 million hryvnia (about 67,000 US dollars) for Vasya through fundraising.
▲ "Servant of the People" Vasya's complaints
People have long been tired of traditional politicians who only talk empty words but are good at making money. Vasya, who has no political experience, was unexpectedly elected as the president of Ukraine with 67% of the vote.
"President Vasya" overcame all obstacles and rectified the powerful, and in the scenes of ridiculous stories, he worked hard to build a "clean and upright" Ukraine.
The Ukrainian people's dissatisfaction with reality was released in the plot of "Servant of the People". The average ratings of the show reached 10.4%. As a country that loves football, Ukrainians' ratings of the 2016 European Cup Qualifiers The rate is only 9.9%.
▲Is this the president that Ukrainians want?
4-year-old Gregory is a bus driver in Kiev . He left a message on the broadcast website:
"My colleagues and I are fans of Servant of the People. Vasya is the president that Ukrainians need." , let the oligarchs and corrupt officials go to hell.”
In fact, the birth of "Servant of the People" benefited from the support of the oligarch Kolomoisky.
▲The relationship is unusual
After the Crimean crisis , another Ukrainian oligarch and the founder of Ukraine's largest candy company Poroshenko became the president of Ukraine.
The financial and energy companies in Kolomoisky's hands were extremely profitable. After Poroshenko came to power, he launched an investigation into Koch's "Private Bank" and other industries, and found that the bank had $5.65 billion in bad debts.
Poroshenko ordered the nationalization of the bank. In order to escape legal action, Koch hid in Switzerland.
▲ Poroshenko
As a veteran of poker, Kolomoisky will not give in easily. Since "Servant of the People" has made Zelensky extremely popular, why not take advantage of the situation and let this young man defeat Poroshenko and become a real president?
Kolomoisky did not hesitate and immediately arranged a meeting with Zelensky.
3. Zelensky’s House of Cards
Kolomoisky stood in front of the huge shark tank in the office. While feeding live shrimp, he said:
“Mr. Zelensky, I think you should be like Vasya. Be so strong and brave to stand up and lead Ukrainians, and I will provide you with all the help I can."
Zelensky sat awkwardly on the sofa. Kolomoisky did not look back, but he could feel that the young man behind him was preparing to attack the chair in Maria Palace.
Maria Palace is located on the outskirts of Kiev. This indigo building has been the residence of the president of Ukraine since its independence. Poroshenko frowned in front of the table. Since being elected president, Poroshenko has actively adjusted his diplomatic strategy. Against the background of the bad relations with Russia, Ukraine is stepping up its integration into the West and trying to join the EU as soon as possible.
▲ Maria Palace
This caters to the ideas of pro-Europeans, but it also offends pro-Russian voters in the east. The fighting in the Donbass region has not stopped, but now, Kolomoisky, who was once attacked by himself, is supporting Zelensky in an attempt to compete with him in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election.
Just as Poroshenko worried, although Zelensky is a political amateur, "Servant of the People" has accumulated extremely high popularity for him, making him the embodiment of justice. Zelensky established the Servant of the People Party in 2018 in the name of a TV series.
▲The Servant of the People Party also appeared in China’s domestic news
In the 2019 New Year, many Ukrainians were waiting in front of the TV, waiting for the Ukrainian national TV station to publish President Poroshenko’s New Year’s speech to see what promises the president would make in the new year. What a "good promise".
The 1+1 TV station controlled by Kolomoisky preemptively released Zelensky’s election manifesto.
Zelensky mentioned his “Ukrainian dream”. He dreams of a day when doctors and teachers receive fair remuneration, corrupt officials are effectively punished, and the elderly enjoy a comfortable retirement life.
After that, Koch sent his personal lawyer Andrei Bogdan to act as a legal adviser to Zelensky. In other respects, Koch even asked Zelensky for money and people.
In order to establish Zelensky's character, 1+1 TV station broadcast a documentary about US President Reagan . Trying to explain that Zelensky is like Reagan. Although he is an actor, he is also capable of governing the country. In the documentary, it was Zelensky who voiced Reagan.
▲The president in the play
Poroshenko also started his propaganda machine, emphasizing Zelensky’s lack of experience in governing. Ukrainians are tired of politicians who only talk but do not do anything. Zelensky is not an oligarch. His only "political experience" is as the "President of Ukraine" in "Servant of the People". This actually brought him closer to voters.
Voting across Ukraine is ready. In Poroshenko's campaign poster, he is eye-to-eye with Putin, portraying himself as an "anti-Russian hero." Zelensky's posters are also full of "Servant of the People" style, trying to arouse people's favor for the "civilian president".
Ukraine’s general election stipulates that candidates are not allowed to promote the day before the vote. 1+1 TV station broadcasts the third season of “Servant of the People” 24 hours a day, which happens to be the story of President Vasya played by Zelensky’s vigorous crackdown on domestic official corruption.
"Servant of the People" aroused the empathy of the Ukrainian people. In the final vote on April 21, 2019, Zelensky won Poroshenko with 73% of the vote and was elected as the 6th President of Ukraine. .
▲ Some are happy and some are sad
After the joy of being elected dissipated, what faced Zelensky was a realistic Ukraine. Even if he worked hard and wanted to "clear the old dust in the breeze" like in the TV series, the reality was not as smooth as in the TV series.
Kolomoisky's personal lawyer Bogdan became Zelensky's director of the presidential office. In order to curb the oligarchs, Zelensky introduced the "De-Oligarchy Law", but it was resisted by 's vested interest group and found it difficult to implementation.
▲ There are more than one oligarchs
In order to rectify the official atmosphere, Zelensky really brought some colleagues from the entertainment industry into the ruling team just like in the TV series. As a result, the team's lack of professionalism was quickly exposed.
By the end of 2021, the war in Wudong is still burning, and the economy has not improved. People accused Zelensky of "only performing", and the Servant of the People Party's support rate dropped to about 11%.
Until the Russian-Ukrainian war broke out, Zelensky, who was despised by Russia and even disliked by Ukrainians, changed his formal image, wore a green shirt and grew a beard, saying that he "will resolutely resist the Russian invasion."
As Russian troops approached Kiev, there were several rumors that Zelensky fled abroad. Zelensky led his ministers to appear in front of various landmarks in Kiev to express his belief in coexisting with the country.
▲ Zelensky said that he and his cabinet members will stick to Kiev
Although Russian media accused Zelensky of staged photos, regardless of the facts, Zelensky’s frequent appearances did encourage Ukrainians and his support The degree is also steadily recovering.
Zelensky made full use of social media to gain support from public opinion. He spoke at conferences in Western countries one after another. His accumulation as an actor allowed him to gain a lot of support from the West. Western politicians frequently come to Kiev to cheer for Ukraine, and Zelensky has become the "top Internet celebrity" in the international political circle in 2022.
▲ Appearing everywhere
The war made Zelensky the soul figure of this country. He is still active in front of the camera, but he reveals an unprecedented humility and calmness.
Those remarks that " actors are harming the country " disappeared, and Zelensky won the hearts and minds of the people again. People no longer complain about his overacting, because a country at war needs the president to always be in front of the camera to inspire his people.
▲ "Showing Muscles" with Putin
The Russia-Ukraine War has made Zelensky's image no longer weak. His quality as an actor has given him the capital to compete with Putin for the "tough guy title."
Actor and President, these two roles may not mean a distinction for Zelensky .
▲Life is like a play
