Serhii Rudenko - Zelensky - A Biography

ZELENSKY

Originally published in Ukrainian as in 2021
Serhii Rudenko. Agreement via Wiedling Literary Agency.

This English edition Polity Press, 2022

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ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-5639-7

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Library of Congress Control Number 2022939916

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Abbreviations

ATO

(Anti-Terrorist Operation)

BPP

(Petro Poroshenko Bloc)

BRDO

(Better Regulation Delivery Office)

CJSC

(Closed Joint-Stock Company)

CPSU

(Communist Party of the Soviet Union)

CPU

(Communist Party of Ukraine)

DBR

(State Bureau of Investigation)

DPI

(Donetsk Polytechnic Institute)

DPR

(Donetsk Peoples Republic)

HPU

(Office of the Prosecutor General)

HUR MO

(Chief Office of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense)

KVK

(Club of the Cheerful and Quick-Witted Ukrainian)

VN

(Club of the Cheerful and Quick-Witted Russian)

LKSMU

(Leninist Communist Union of Ukrainian Youth)

LPR

(Luhansk Peoples Republic)

NABU

(National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine)

NAZK

(National Agency on Corruption Prevention)

NBU

(National Bank of Ukraine)

NSK

(National Sports Complex)

ODA

(Regional State Administration)

ORDLO

(the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine)

OSCE

(Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe)

PVK

(Private Military Company)

RNBO

(National Security and Defense Council)

SAP

(Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Office)

SBU

(Security Service of Ukraine)

SDPU(o)

(Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united))

SZR

(Foreign Intelligence Service)

TCG

(Trilateral Contact Group)

TsBK

(Central Election Commission)

Preface
Zelenskys Political Oscar

On April 21, 2019, at 8:00 p.m., Volodymyr Zelensky and members of his team appeared before journalists to the sounds of the song I Love My Country from the soundtrack to the film (and TV series) Servant of the People .

At that moment, it seemed that this simple song was being sung not only by the victorious candidate himself, but also by the 73 percent of the electorate who had voted for him.

Ukrainian and foreign journalists, who flooded the capitals Parkovy Convention and Exhibition Center, were looking forward to the victory speech of the newly elected president. Zelensky was radiant. And so were those who had led him to victory: Andriy Bohdan, Dmytro Razumkov, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Andriy Yermak, Oleksandr Danyliuk, and Zelenskys wife Olena. Confetti was flying all around them, the hall was buzzing, the staff were ready to dance for joy.

We did it together , Zelensky began his speech, with his characteristic intonation. First, as befits an actor at the Oscars, he thanked his team, family, relatives, his wife Olena, and even two cleaning ladies, Oksana and Lyuba, who kept the headquarters neat and tidy. He also mentioned the symbolic 73rd section at the Olympic Stadium, where he and his team shot the famous video Stadion tak Stadion (Let It Be the Stadium Then!).

Zelensky was still in the character of Vasyl Holoborodko the protagonist of the film and TV series and tried to joke, to toss barbs at the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine), which, according to him, kept him on his toes at all times, and to show optimism. It seems that, in saying goodbye to his acting career, Zelensky was counting on the same raucous applause as he entered the political arena. Sure enough, he was used to being loved by the public and to hearing shouts of Bravo and Encore! It was no small wonder. He had received ovations in grand concert halls and theaters in Moscow, Kyiv, Odesa, Jurmala, Minsk, and other cities of the former Soviet Union; he became a rising star in 1997 after appearing in Aleksandr Maslyakovs game show VN (Club of the Cheerful and Quick-Witted). This was when television fame anointed the 19-year-old actor. Prior to his presidency, Volodymyr Zelensky was a popular actor beloved by many Ukrainians.

But, on the evening of April 21, 2019, having won a landslide victory in the presidential election, could he have imagined that, only about six months later, he would, after addressing a crowd, be hearing: Shame! and Away with Zelya!? And not only from the supporters of his main opponent Petro Poroshenko, but also from volunteers, the military, and politicians.

A few months after the inauguration, Zelensky started dismissing those who had led him to victory. The first to go was the secretary of the RNBO (National Security and Defense Council) Oleksandr Danyliuk, who allegedly took offense at Zelensky for not making him prime minister. The second member to leave the team was the head of the Office of the President Andriy Bohdan, who had been with him since his first steps in bigtime politics. Then, Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk and Prosecutor General Ruslan Ryaboshapka both lost their posts.

All these people were part of the Zelensky collective, elected by the country on April 21, 2019. Because right through to the end of the presidential campaign there was no such thing as Zelensky the politician. At all. He was a talented comedian, manager of the Inter TV channel and Kvartal 95 Studio. An actor who played the high-school teacher Vasyl Holoborodko, who, in the TV series, became head of state. Zelenskys presidential image was constructed by those around him.

In 2019, Ukraines sixth president announced: I promise I will never let you all down. Since then, we have seen Zelensky in various situations. He and his team have been criticized for being unprofessional. They have been accused of corruption, arrogance, and even treason. However, starting from February 24, 2022, the beginning of Russias large-scale invasion of the Ukrainian state, we have discovered a completely different Zelensky. A man who was not afraid to accept Putins challenge and become the leader of popular resistance to Russian aggression. A president who managed to unite in this fight his supporters and opponents, corrupt officials and fighters against corruption, adults and children, people of different nationalities and faiths. A head of state who is greeted with applause in European parliaments and the US Congress.