Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is no stranger to applause.
Before he was elected president of Ukraine in 2019, the law graduate had already established a career. It wasn’t in law though, or even politics.
It was in comedy.
Zelenskyy – who was born to Jewish parents in 1978 – was a student at the Kryvyy Rih Economic Institute campus of Kyiv National Economic University when he became active in theater. By 1997, his performance group, Kvartal 95, appeared in the televised finals of KVN (Club of the Funny and Inventive People), a popular improvisational comedy competition in Ukraine.
According to The Atlantic, Zelenskyy has a “skill for broad, physical comedy in the style of Benny Hill.”
Kvartal 95 became KVN program regulars through 2003. That year, Zelenskyy cofounded Studio Kvartal 95, which became one of Ukraine’s most successful entertainment studios. In 2011, he was named general producer of the Ukrainian television channel Inter TV. He left the following year when Kvratal 95 joined a production agreement with the Ukrainian network, 1+1.
As he worked behind the scenes, Zelenskyy also appeared on T.V. and in feature films. Some of his notable work includes hosting the comedy show “League of Laughter," winning the 2006 season of Ukraine’s “Dancing with the Stars,” and voicing the title character in the Ukrainian version of “Paddington."
After political tension impacted the Ukrainian government in 2014 and 2015, Zelenskyy was cast as Vasiliy Goloborodko in the show “Servant of the People,” which became a hit. Goloborodko is an everyman history teacher who becomes president of Ukraine after a video of his profanity-laden address against political corruption goes viral.
By 2019, Kvartal 95 registered “Servant of the People” as a political party.
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Billionaire Petro Poroshenko was president at the time, and his approval ratings declined as the Ukrainian economy stalled. Using a campaign strategy based on short speeches and comedy routines, Zelensky eventually won the 2019 election with 73% of the vote.
Soon afterwards, according to The New York Times, then U.S. President Donald Trump – who was holding back hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine that Congress had appropriated to help fend off Russian aggression – asked Zelensky to investigate the Biden family.
This call was used as evidence in Trump’s first impeachment trial in early 2020. Around a month after the trial ended, COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic.
Now, Zelenskyy is facing “the largest conventional military attack since World War II,” according to CNN.
For more than five days, Zelenskyy has led the people of Ukraine in battle against the invasion by Russia. As of Tuesday, more than 100 civilians, including children, had died as Russia attacked populated Ukrainian cities. Leaders around the world have been stunned by the strength of Ukraine’s resistance.
While his opponents criticized Zelenskyy for being a political novice during the election, his actions during the invasion have won the respect of the Ukrainian public, said The Washington Post. He has refused offers to flee Kyiv and has instead walked the streets with residents as missiles hit Ukraine’s capital city. Zelensky has also given regular video updates as Russia invades Ukraine.
Even though he is no longer working as an improvisational comedian, Zelenskyy has proven he is still able to come up with memorable one-liners.
After U.S. officials offered to transport him to safety, Zelenskyy reportedly responded, “I need ammunition, not a ride." According to CBS News, that “has become a signature tagline associated with the president.”
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Along with bombs and gunfire aimed at Ukraine, and possible plans for assassination of Zelenskyy, Russians have targeted the Ukrainian president with Russian claims of Neo-Nazism, despite the fact he is Jewish and that many of his family members were killed in the Holocaust.
He and the Ukraine continue to fight back against Russian attacks.
“I do not read the text from the papers today, because the papers in the life of my state are over,” said a translation of Zelenskyy in a video address to the European Union posted to Facebook Tuesday. “All this is a reality. All these dead people.”
In the video, Zelenskyy called for the European Union to make Ukraine a member. According to Forbes, Ukraine has long sought to become a member, and joining would require other members to help it militarily. However, it can take around a decade from its application for a country to be officially accepted into the European Union.
“We are fighting for our rights, our freedom, our life. And now we are fighting for survival. And this is our main motivation,” Zelenskyy said. “But we are also fighting to be equal members of Europe.”
Applause from the delegation followed Zelenskyy’s speech, which he concluded with “glory to Ukraine.”
CNN reported that there was widespread support Tuesday for Ukraine to become a member of the European Union, according to European Commission Vice President Margaritas Schinas. Zelenskyy also spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden Tuesday about additional support to Ukraine and sanctions on Russia.
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