Zelenskyy is showing up our leaders

Are we beginning to crave personalised politics?

Words: Felice Southwell. Images: iStock.

By now everyone in the world knows about Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine. 

We’ve learned to pronounce his name, we’ve seen him speak Russian and we’ve seen him dressed in military clothing. 

Considering he plays a major role on the world stage—as leader of the powerful agricultural exporter and centre of European culture Ukraine—most of us probably don’t know enough about him. 

We’ll look at Zelenskyy’s background and explain how his leadership during the Russian invasion represents a bigger picture: we are beginning to crave personalised politics. 

Who is Zelenskyy?

You might be surprised to hear that Zelenskyy actually grew up as a jewish, native Russian speaker in Kryvyi Rih, a major city in central Ukraine.

He went to university in Kyiv and got a law degree, before pursuing a career in acting.

What you might not know is that this acting career actually included a comedy TV series titled “Servant of the People”, in which Zelenskyy played the role of a Ukrainian president. 

The series was so popular that in March 2018, a political party was formed with the same name as the show, as Zelenskyy decided he would enter Ukrainian politics for real.

The manifesto focussed on anti-corruption as well as advocating unity in the Donbas region of Ukraine–now under siege by Russian troops. 

Using social media as his main campaigning tool, Zelenskyy won the presidency by a huge landslide–winning by 73% of the vote.

The celebrity to politician pipeline

There are many examples of how politics is becoming more personalised across the globe.