Do you know the story of the president of Ukraine?
The comedian, actor and film director, from a common family in the city and little by little he won the affection of the people.
Volodimir Zelensky was known for making the Russian-speaking citizens of the former Soviet Union laugh, until 2019 when he became the sixth and current president of Ukraine.
The son of a doctor of technical sciences and an engineer, Volodimir was born in 1978 in Krivoy Rog, which at that time belonged to the Soviet Union. Part of his childhood was spent in Mongolia, since his father was sent there as part of his job.
Some time later he returned to Ukraine with his family, and began to study at a school where he was taught English very well. Some of his tastes at the time were playing the guitar, and the piano.
In his last school year, his passion for the stage and humor began. In addition, he organized a team of KVN (Club of Funny and Witty), a long-running comedy group television game in the times of the Soviet Union.
Career as a comedian
In 1995, at the end of his school years, Volodímir entered the Higher Institute of Economics in his hometown, with the goal of acquiring a law degree.
However, as a lawyer he made little effort and dedicated more time to his career in the world of entertainment and humor, with his participation in the KVN.
In 1997, he won the Major League award of the game and thanks to his success, he managed to get into the Kvartal-95 team, which is still Zelensky's hallmark.
In 2003, Volodymyr led a team of comedians and they were invited to various national television channels. Thanks to this, the program 'Vecherry Kvartal' (Night Kvartal) was released, and it surpassed audience statistics of the other TV hits. One of those shows was 'The Comedy Club' in the Russian language and the famous 'KVN'.
As a result of the humorous political program, Volodymyr and some fellow comedians became the co-owner of the company 'Kvartal-95'. In this way, the great change from comedian to producer of fame is shown.
This production company made several television projects, wrote New Year's scripts, films, events and musicals. Volodymyr participated in launches of various programs.
film career
In 2008 he began his career as a family comedy producer with the film 'Consuegros', which was very successful in Ukraine, Russia and countries of the former Soviet Union.
That same year, he was commissioned to star in the feature film 'Love in the big city', the dentist Igor. The filming was done based on the script prepared by Volodymyr's production company, Studio Kvartal-95.
In 2015, he began his approach to politics, when he was in charge of starring in 'Servidor del pueblo'.
Volodymyr's private life
From his creative career until now politics, he has had the company of his wife Olena Zelenska (Kiyashko, before marriage), whom he has known since childhood. Together they have two children: Alexandra and Kirill.
Olena, whom he married in 2003, worked as an author and screenwriter for Studio Kvartal-95.
Alexandra, her daughter, began her film career. In 2014, the little girl starred in '8 Nuevas Citas'. In 2016, he participated in the talent show 'Make the comedian laugh', which, with inherited humor, won an important award.
From comedian to president
After his success in the television series 'Servidor del Pueblo' and 'Servidos del Pueblo 2', the comedian gained significant popularity in Ukraine. His fame among citizens prompted him to decide to participate in the presidential election campaign.
The electoral campaign designed by Volodymyr Zelensky was very intelligent. The Servant of the People party was called after the television series ¡Ze! (nickname adopted by Zelensky in the campaign).
Volodymyr won the presidency of Ukraine by obtaining more than 73% of the votes.
Zelensky went from making fun of politicians to being the target of caricatures and jokes. Such is the case of his image made with 3,000 candies made in the Roshen factory, owned by his electoral opponent Petro Poroshenko. This work is in the Sweet Museum of St. Petersburg (Russia).
President of Ukraine
By winning the elections, he deciphered a common language with the elite of European politics. From Ukraine, he works for entry into the European Union. Every time he conducts negotiations, he is characterized by having a smile on his face.
Many of the economic and political topics can be complicated for the comedian, but he never lacks support from politicians from different countries.
Zelenski transmits a lot of security and responsibility in the commitments as president. In an interview, he assured that he does not see any competitor in his political opponents. In addition, he assured that the only competition he has is poor people, infrastructure and war.
Although the comedian has endeared himself to many people, his presidential term has had citizens dissatisfied with Ze's politics. A part of the population criticizes his administration and calls for his resignation. They claim that life is not a television series with a happy ending.
Like all rulers, Volodimir Zelensky has opponents and supporters. However, his humorous talent is highly respected in Ukraine and beyond.