The Untold Story Of Volodymyr Zelensky | Full Biography Of Ukrainian President

This is the comedian and actor who became president. He was called a clown and protege of the oligarchs. He was offered to evacuate from war-torn Ukraine, but he stayed. While world leaders are sticking their heads in the sand, he is at the head of a country that is not afraid to rebuff Putin himself, whom even NATO fears. Volodymyr Zelensky. Who is he? Just an eloquent clown or a strong leader worthy of his people? Today on the Biographer channel, we'll talk about how Volodymyr Zelensky became the face of the Ukrainian resistance. Ready? Let's go! Volodymyr Zelensky was born on January 25, 1978, in Krivyi Rih, a large city in central Ukraine. Volodymyr's family was rather intelligent and had a high level of culture. His father was a professor and candidate of technical sciences, and his mother devoted all her time to raising her son. Before entering elementary school, Zelensky lived for four years in the Mongolian city of Erdenet, where his father worked. Returning to Ukraine, the family settled in a quarter called by the inhabitants of Krivyi Rih and Thiel. Zelensky was a good student and class leader. In addition, he was involved in weightlifting and basketball. For some time, he was fond of ballroom dancing and also mastered the piano and guitar, which he played in the school ensemble and theatrical productions. He was always in the center of attention and loved to perform on stage. Not a single school event was complete without the During his last school years, Zelensky thought about his future more than once, and he saw it in diplomacy. At the age of 16, he passed an English proficiency test and received an educational grant to study in Israel, but his father didn't allow him to go. Then, Volodymyr entered the Krivyi Rih State University of Economics and Technology, where he received a law degree. However, he didn't work a single day in his specialty except for a two-month practice. Law turned out to be too boring for him. I remember walking into and out of the courtroom with the full adequate understanding that I must leave this stage in search of my own one. And the scene was found very quickly. Already from the first year, he had another strong hobby, which forced out all the others. At the age of 17, Zelensky joined the local KVN team. From Russian, this abbreviation means Club of the Funny and Inventive. In the CIS countries, this is a popular comedy competition where teams from different countries take part. Players prepare several humorous performances on given topics and show them to the jury. Zelensky was noticed and invited to the United Ukrainian team, Zaporizhzhia Krivyi Rih Transit, which played in the Major League and won in 1997. Initially, Zelensky was not in the main cast, but simply helped with the scenery and taught his comrades dancing. But gradually, he won the place of the actor. Later, Volodymyr and several of his close comrades decided to create his own team, which they called the 95th Quarter, in honor of one of the districts in Krivyi Rih. Volodymyr Zelensky became not only a captain and an actor, but also the author of most of Upon realizing that his son wasn't going to work as a lawyer and seeing how he was increasingly captured by the scene, Zelensky's father was shocked. He wanted Volodymyr to have a serious profession, an academic degree and stability. Acting career, of course, didn't imply any stability, but his father's discontent didn't stop Zelensky. From 1998 to 2003, the 95th Quarter performed in the Higher League of KVN. The team members almost lived in Moscow and constantly toured the CIS countries. But in 2003, the team's relationship with the leadership of KVN began to deteriorate. At some point, Zelensky was offered to stay in KVN, but without his team, just as an author and editor. However, Volodymyr refused to leave his friends and left KVN with his team. Thus began the history of the creation of a large studio. Having ended their career in KVN, most of the team members were confused and demoralized. The only thing they were sure of was that they couldn't completely leave the stage and their favorite pastime. Therefore, Zelensky and his friends decided on a bold and even insane step. They went to Kiev in order to create a company within which they could implement original creative ideas, produce and promote their own TV projects and entertainment shows. The company was named after the team — Kvartal 95 Studio. The first step on their way was the organization of their own humorous concert — Veshcherny Kvartal Evening Quarter. The search for sponsors, premises and equipment began. Actors, comedians and screenwriters temporarily became managers, producers and call center operators. They called concert venues and investors and, most importantly, looked for a TV channel that could record their concert. We initially destroyed the stereotype about creating a business, because I've always believed that more can be achieved through trust, when people are passionate about one goal. They were predicted to fail. They said that show business is a closed world, into which one cannot break through without connections and big money. But the team had a powerful engine — Zelensky. He believed in success and supported his comrades. After all, they were more than just partners. They were all friends first and foremost, and that was their strength. Finally, the team's hard work was rewarded. In December of 2003, the company, together with the Ukrainian TV channel One Plus One Studio, began production of a cycle of five concerts dedicated to the most significant holidays of 2004. The bold experiment was supported by other comedians not related to their original team, as well as show business stars. The concert became a bright celebration of humor, from which the audience was completely delighted. After the success of the programs, Vladimir Zelensky and his team were invited to one of the largest Ukrainian TV channels — Inter. But they had one condition — they must add more political humor to their repertoire. Since then, the concerts of the Evening Quarter are not complete without satirical performances about political events in Ukraine and the world. Evening Quarter is difficult to attribute to any one genre. Someone calls this show a political cabaret. Someone calls it a theater of political satire. With each new concert, political jokes became tougher. The actors made the audience applaud and made their relatives get anxious. The Evening Quarter never spared politicians and openly ridiculed their vices. Sometimes, it seemed that after another sharp joke, the program would simply be closed. But, despite the fear of loved ones, the authors continued to play on the verge of a foul. It's great fun to come and tell jokes, knowing you're free to do it. You are not engaged and you are not fulfilling anyone's mission. The audience fell in love with the Evening Quarter and its actors. And Volodymyr Zelensky became not only its key actor, but also an ideologist, author, and director. The year 2003 for Zelensky was also notable for another event. He married Olena Kiyashko, with whom he went to school together and played in KVN. Olena has been one of the screenwriters of the Karvatal 95 studio since its inception. A year after the wedding, the couple had a daughter, Aleksandra. And in 2013, the son of Kirillov was born to the Zelensky family. The studio didn't stop at concerts. Soon, other projects of Karvatal 95 began to appear on various television channels in Ukraine. For example, a morning show and humorous programs. Made in Ukraine and Ukraine Get Up In 2006, Zelensky won the Ukrainian version of the show Dancing with the Stars. After the success in this project, Zelensky became one of the most popular people of Ukrainian television. He regularly starred in New Year's musicals, took part in various television shows, hosted concerts, wrote television and film scripts. Nevertheless, his main project has always been the Evening Quarter. The following year, the company started to conquer cinema. And we must say, they became rather successful. To date, the team has more than 16 films and series, which have become very popular both in Ukraine and in Russia. And some even beyond. For example, the comedy series Svaty, from Ukraine, meaning In-Laws, was shortlisted for the Monte Carlo Television Festival in the International TV Audience Comedy category, next to such series as The Big Bang Theory. It is interesting that in one of the films of the studio, Eight First Dates, Zelensky's daughter played the role of the daughter of his hero. From 2010 to 2012, Zelensky was the general producer of the Inter TV channel. In subsequent years, Kavital 95, under the leadership of Zelensky and his partners, released many original TV formats. He held festivals of humor, helping young, yet unknown comedians and actors to realize themselves in their favorite business. But in 2014, the lives of many Ukrainians changed forever. The revolution of dignity, the annexation of Crimea, and then the military conflict in the Donbass were a heavy blow, but still didn't unsettle the team of the evening quarter. Actors and authors decided that in this difficult time for the country, they should do what they do best – cheer up their people. After 2014, some people from Moscow, seeing my inner life position, stopped talking to me. And there were channel managers. It's clear that we, as producers, had some personal and business relationships, but they all just disappeared. The studio didn't stay away from what was happening. Zelensky, together with his colleagues, gave volunteer concerts for Ukrainian soldiers, bought ambulances, and donated funds to the needs of participants in the anti-terrorist operation. The introduction series of Vladimir Zelensky's Servant of the People, where he starred as the President of Ukraine, first appeared on screens in 2015. In the series, Zelensky played a 30-year-old high school history teacher who won the presidential election after his student posted a video online of the main character talking loudly about corruption in Ukraine. Then, the series was watched by about 20 million Ukrainians, and already in 2016, the full-length film Servant of the People 2 was released with a box office of $1 million. On its base, another season of the series was released in 2017. It was after this semi-joking, semi-serious conversations began among Ukrainians that Zelensky could become president in real life. I always wanted to help the country or people who are engaged in the organization of the state, but there was no such idea. To come to political life through the series, it came out by itself. It happens. In 2017, a lawyer at the Carvatal 95 studio registered a political party of the same name. The series and its protagonist have become so popular that in a September 2018 study by three research centers, Zelensky was ranked third in a poll of who would you vote for if the elections were held soon. The actor himself was repeatedly asked about the possibility of becoming president in various interviews, but he was always evasive. But soon, Zelensky nevertheless showed his hands. On December 31, a few minutes before 2019, Vladimir Zelensky appealed to Ukrainians on the One Plus One TV channel, where he stated that he intended to run for the 2019 presidential election. At that time, Zelensky had long been not just a comedian, but a producer of a large studio and a businessman. But for lots of Ukrainians, he remained the funny guy from the evening quarter. At first, no one seriously believed that a popular comedian would become president. Zelensky's decision was seen as a joke and part of the show, and many believed in the possibility of his victory in much the same way as in the existence of UFOs. One of the authors of the Ukrainska Pravda from Ukraine Ukrainian Truth publication even wrote on Facebook a few days before the second round, Zelensky will never become president, remember this post. In January of 2019, Zelensky complimented and joked a lot during meetings with journalists. He tried to dilute the serious atmosphere with humor and demonstrate that he is a simple guy. On January 21, the servant of the People Party nominated him as a candidate for the presidency of Ukraine. On the same day, the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper published an interview in which Zelensky stated that if he won the presidential election, he would negotiate a ceasefire in Donbass. These agreements, I think, are not very complicated. It seems to me that we can agree. The first thing is to stop killing. It is important to save our people. The publication critically assessed Vladimir's election campaign, noting that Zelensky's team was conducting a non-standard presidential campaign, which resembled not a political process but a nationwide show. The main promises of the future president were Settlement of the situation in the east of Ukraine. In particular, return the temporarily occupied territories and force the aggressor to compensate for the damage caused. Creating a professional army and providing the military with competitive UN-level salaries. Removal of immunity from the president, people's deputies, and judges. At the end of January, Zelensky came out on top in the election polls for the first time. According to a survey of three sociological companies, Vladimir Zelensky had 23 percent of the vote and his two main components 16.4 percent and 15.7 percent. By February, Zelensky's rating rose to 25 to 30 percent, and in mid-March, he became the absolute leader of the presidential race. Zelensky said that he would only serve one term in the presidency. Meanwhile, in March, the third season of the series Servant of the People was released. However, the show received three times fewer viewers than the first season, as well as numerous criticisms due to signs of political agitation. The election campaign of the future president was carried out under the slogan Let's do it together. For three months, Vladimir Zelensky gave several interviews but didn't hold a single press conference for the all-Ukrainian media. Journalists heard and saw his statements from YouTube videos and also listened to comments of representatives of the election headquarters, which gave the experts reason to call Mr. Zelensky a virtual candidate, a hologram, and a rapper. Promises and a non-standard personality of the candidate worked. As a result of passing two rounds, Vladimir Zelensky won a decisive number of votes and won the presidential election. On May 20, 2019, the inauguration ceremony took place in the building of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, during which Vladimir Zelensky took the oath as head of state. By the way, more than 50 foreign delegations were invited to the inauguration and were present, but representatives of Russia were not invited. Already this small moment indirectly marked the attitude of the future president in the contact of world politics. In his first speech as president, Vladimir Zelensky declared, there are no right or wrong Ukrainians, and called on Ukrainians, those who were born on Ukrainian land, to return to their homeland. I can assure that in order for our heroes not to die anymore, I am ready for anything, and I'm definitely not afraid to make tough decisions. And soon, Vladimir Zelensky got the opportunity to prove his words in practice. But before that, more than two and a half years of presidency, the path of trial and error. The first year in the political life of the president was ambiguous. Still, the lack of experience and real skills were the main reason. It concerned a number of areas of the country's life. The foreign policy course of the country corresponded to the initial statement that was aimed at establishing strong relations with the EU and NATO countries. Co-director of foreign policy and international security programs Mikhailo Pashkov marked, the authorities have managed to maintain, to some extent, the support and solidarity of the world's leading countries and international organizations. Among the positive actions were held, the Ukrainian EU summit, the Commission meeting and the resumption of the negotiations of the Normandy Four at the highest level. Ukraine was visited by the NATO Euro-Atlantic Council and also joined the NATO Enhanced Opportunities Program. But at the same time, Zelensky's main promise to end the war in Donbass had not been fulfilled. Moreover, there were a number of concessions in relations with Russia, which by itself was regarded by the aggressor country as indulgence and passivity. In the field of legal policy, there were trends towards strengthening presidential power and an attempt to make significant changes to the constitution of Ukraine in order to weaken representative institutions. Some believed that despite the presence of a considerable number of correctly set tasks, Zelensky's political platform didn't show signs of a holistic concept of economic reforms and economic modernization of the country. As a result, the entire economic policy in such conditions turned into a set of weakly coordinated actions. Zelensky became much more serious this year. He learned to speak like a politician, avoid sharp questions, cut corners, shift accents, intrigue and understate. But humor remained his main defense and weapon. And the image of a simple guy is still one of the main roles in the president's piggy bank. At the same time, reforms were being carried out in the field of defense of the country, personnel were being replaced and weapons were being reformed. A step was taken towards the possibility of acquiring imported weapons. New commands were created, which reflected the trend toward bringing the AFU, Armed Forces of Ukraine, control system closer to NATO standards. Along with foreign visits, for three months, Vladimir Zelensky also actively traveled around the Ukraine and communicated with local officials. And quite often, he allowed himself not to choose words, resorting to harsh expressions and demands to leave the post. The closer to the Get out of here, robber. Sell the Land Cruiser for the sake of the people. Write a statement. We're already included in the golden collection of presidential quotes. Vladimir Zelensky, in personal communication with local heads, in principle, is not shy about ordinary speech and speaks as he is. In addition, the president was on the forefront and tried to support the armed forces, negotiated with Putin and cancelled one and a half hundred decrees of his predecessors, arguing that the purpose of business deregulation and their obsoleteness. As a result, by the end of the first year of his reign, Vladimir Zelensky remained with a fairly high credibility of citizens. According to the director of political and legal programs, Viktor Zamyatin, none of the other current Ukrainian politicians even come close to the level of trust that society demonstrates in the president. In one of the interviews, Vladimir Zelensky admitted that he didn't regret that he changed his acting career to the presidency. He indicated that it was important for him not so much during as after. And I still want to remain president so that they say, we respect you. Not everything was perfect, but nevertheless, everything was not bad. The next year was complicated in many ways by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. This greatly influenced the economic sphere, both around the world and in Ukraine. By the end of the year of Vladimir Zelensky's term, more than 600 promises had accumulated behind him. 28% of them were fulfilled and about 50% were in the process of being fulfilled. Parliamentary immunity was abolished, long-term credit support programs for businesses and citizens were introduced, and the minimum wage was raised. The implementation of the Great Construction Program was in process, which included the repair of 6,500 kilometers of roads and bridges throughout Ukraine. Foreign policy was largely shaped by the talks of Donbass, or lack thereof. Therefore, this topic influenced all other areas of the country's foreign policy of this period. It had such tendencies as an emphasis on the importance of respect for Ukraine from international partners and on economic diplomacy, or in simple terms, the search for money for the development of the state. But in the presence of many strategies, specific ways to achieve the goals weren't clearly identified. Thus, Pavlo Klimkin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, for his part, noted that over the past 2.5 years, there had been more emotions and statements in Ukraine's foreign policy. There became less trust. Being under the frenzied pressure of the Russian regime, under the possibility of large-scale military provocations, we must reanalyze the sphere of national security, where there are many strategies and few real steps, and the sphere of foreign policy, where our game is quite limited today. In general, the process of regulating the situation in Donbass can be conditionally divided into several stages, from the period of flirting with Moscow, attempts to shift the dialogue along the lines of the classic Normandy format, to toughening the positions of both sides. Kiev showed that Ukraine was not ready to make concessions and surrender its own territories, and didn't recognize puppet local governments. Moscow began to move away from the format of negotiations during 2021, increased pressure and also didn't want to give in. Gradually, the issue of Donbass became a stumbling block, which reflected the real situation of forces in the international field. It also outlined a number of problems in relations between Russia and the West. In part, the rigidity of the policy is also connected with personal changes in the internal state of Vladimir Zelensky. In an interview, he said that the experience of the presidency made him tougher and less naive. He encountered different people of the country every day, and over time, he had to be more critical in various situations. At the end of 2021, Russia began to build up its military force on the borders with Ukraine under the guise of military exercises. US intelligence began to sound the alarm, predicting the imminent state of a full-scale war. Although, back in December 2021, Russia convinced the whole world that it would not gather troops to the border with Ukraine. Meanwhile, Zelensky tried to get specifics from Western partners regarding possible joining NATO and the European Union. At the Munich Security Conference on February 19, Zelensky delivered an emotional speech in which he once again called on the world community to remember the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which implied Ukraine's renunciation of nuclear weapons. In return, the nuclear states must provide security guarantees to Ukraine. His speech broke the applause, although, unfortunately, this performance didn't lead to any expected results. On February 24, 2022, at 5 am, Russia invaded the territory of Ukraine. At that time, TV channels in Moscow began broadcasting Putin's appeal. He announced the invasion of the Russian army into Ukraine, the start of a military conflict with the Ukrainian army, and carrying out a special military operation, behind which a traditional war was hidden. By the time our team started writing this material, as a result of the shelling of peaceful cities and ordinary citizens of the country by Russian troops, only 516 were officially killed, including 50 children. 908 were wounded. The real number is impossible to count. Further events developed very rapidly. Russia carried out strikes on all major cities of Ukraine. And despite the fact that Putin stated that only military infrastructure was being attacked, in reality, the missiles were targeted onto residential buildings, as a result of which the civilian population suffered. According to CNN, Russia has fired 710 missiles against Ukraine since the outbreak of hostilities. According to the Times and reports by the Security Service of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky has been attempted to be assassinated several times. The United States offered Zelensky to evacuate him, but he replied that, this is war and he needs weapons, not transport. Mikhailo Podolyak, advisor to the head of the presidential office, said the following about Zelensky in an interview. Zelensky will definitely not leave Kyiv. He is an insane person, in a good sense of this word. He is not afraid. He believes that he should be inside, in the heart of the country. According to Podolyak, Vladimir Putin doesn't understand the internal situation in Ukraine at all and has false ideas about the president of Ukraine. While Putin is hiding in a bunker, Zelensky remains at his workplace, supports the Ukrainian people and is ready for constructive negotiations. During the difficult situation, Zelensky doesn't lose his presence of mind and sense of humor. For example, a video recently appeared on Russian channels of a meeting between Putin and representatives of Russian airlines, which is most likely fake and filmed using computer graphics. The audience came to this idea when at one point Putin ran his hand through the microphone, as if it had just been drawn on the green screen. Shortly thereafter, at the end of his next speech, Vladimir Zelensky took the microphone and turned it to its side, as if proving that it was not a montage and he remains in the president's office. The phrase of Mikhailo Khodorkovsky, a Russian politician and oppositionist, reflected the changes in the perception of the two antagonist leaders. And it became significant. Politicians turn into clowns. Clowns become heroes. During the first week of the war, even those Ukrainians who were categorically against Zelensky and didn't vote for him in the elections were pleasantly surprised by the statements and actions of the president and began to respect him. According to opinion polls made in early March, 93% of Ukrainians support Zelensky. For comparison, as of mid-February, Zelensky was trusted by 41% of respondents, although this was the best result among Ukrainian politicians. On March 7th, Zelensky received the Ronald Reagan Freedom Medal. This high award recognizes the leadership of the Ukrainian head of state and the indomitable spirit of the millions of Ukrainians who stand up for their right to choose their own future and inspire the entire civilized world to fight for the values of freedom and democracy, to which Ronald Reagan dedicated his life. The president of Ukraine is pursuing an active foreign policy, trying to awaken the whole world, draw its attention to the violation of all possible norms of ethics and morality by the Russian Federation, and get the support of European countries in the fight against Russian aggression. Zelensky is confident that only the cohesion of the international community will make it possible to repel any aggression and save humanity from new suffering. Every day, Vladimir Zelensky does everything possible to get NATO to close the sky over Ukraine. He calls on the world community to act, as events in Ukraine will affect the whole world and not just one particular country. The president of Ukraine believes that all states of the world should say no to totalitarian ideologies, xenophobia, aggression, repression, any manifestations of hatred and intolerance. Dear friends, this video is quite special for the Biographer channel. Some members of our crew are from Ukraine. Part of this video was made in bomb shelters under fire. We always try to please you only with high-quality content and we hope to do this in the future, if we survive. In Ukraine, hundreds of peaceful, innocent people are now dying, as well as the military, who bravely defend their homeland from Russian invaders. Therefore, we cannot be silent. We do not agitate or force anyone. But in case you want to help the Ukrainian people in the struggle for their independence, we've left links to various charitable foundations that help both the Ukrainian army and the general population. You can find them in the description under this video. Every cent from this video will go to a good cause. This was the Biographer. We hope to meet you soon in a new video. Take care of yourself. Bye for now.