In this edition of Knyzka Corner, we will be discussing Serhii Rudenko’s Zelensky.
Rudenko’s biography of Volodymyr Zelensky was written in 2020 under the title Zelensky Without Makeup, but it was not translated into English and published in Europe until 2022. It was subsequently revised in 2023 to include critical events after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine which began on February 24, 2022. This biography examines Zelensky’s rise to power from, “An actor who played the high-school teacher Vasyl Holoborodko, who, in the TV series, became head of state,” to, “A man who was not afraid to accept Putin’s challenge and become the leader of popular resistance to Russian aggression.” (p. xiii) Zelensky has led Ukrainians through their national “nightmare.” (p. 1)
Born on January 24, 1978 in Kryvyi Rih, Volodymyr Zelensky’s birthplace was a centre of iron-ore mining and metallurgy. There was a population of over 500,000 with a very diverse citizenry. It was here that he met his wife Olena, and studied law. However, his real passion was acting. He became part owner of Kvartal 95 Studio and star of the show Servant of the People. However, he eventually decided to take another path by running for political office.
Zelensky was a political unknown when he ran for president. He was an actor who played a reluctant politician. He did not lead a political party, and he did not have any legislative experience. Despite all these challenges, Zelensky ran a successful campaign for president beginning on December 31, 2018. He told Ukrainians they had three paths for the future of their country: “The first is to live as before. The second is to pack up and go abroad. And the third is to try to change things in Ukraine.” (p. 5) He told voters he was taking the third path, and he got elected as president with 73.22 percent of the vote on April 30, 2019.
The early days of his presidential career were rocky. A childhood friend of Zelensky, Ivan Bakanov, led the newly created Servant of the People Party, which won a majority of the seats in the Verkhovna Rada in July 2019. Zelensky could now move confidently on his proposed reforms. However, change was difficult. Zelensky fired former associates, faced corruption charges, and then became the focus of U.S. President Donald Trump’s first impeachment after a controversial phone call in July 2019. Trump allegedly asked Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden, his political opponent, in exchange for military assistance to Ukraine.
From his very first days in office, Zelensky wanted to end the conflict with Russia in Donbas. He was unsuccessful. On February 24, 2022, “the boots of Russian soldiers brought death, torture, rape, looting, and devastation into Ukrainian homes. On that day, the lives of Ukrainians, including Zelensky’s, changed.” (p. 198) However, Putin had underestimated the resolve of the Ukrainian nation to be free.
“President Zelensky faced Putin’s challenge with dignity.” (p.2) There were never-ending challenges getting support from Western countries, and numerous assassination attempts. Perhaps the most famous Zelensky statement came at the beginning of the war when Western leaders urged him to leave Ukraine for his own safety. He replied, “I need ammunition, not a ride.” (p. 198). Throughout the various phases of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Zelensky remained resolute and became a heroic and charismatic international figure. “Zelensky is a man who, together with the courageous Ukrainian people, is making history and changing the rules of international politics in front of the whole world.” (p. 218)
Rudenko’s Zelensky is written in very readable short chapters named “episodes,” reminiscent of his career as an actor. They take readers from his birth in Kryvyi Rih to the events of the war in 2023. The early days of Zelensky’s life are passed over quickly, and more details of this period of his life would have enhanced the biography. Although Rudenko recognized the president’s courage, stoicism, and political acumen, he also detailed his rocky political relationships, the accusations of corruption, and his lack of experience in both the political and economic spheres. Rudenko did a great deal of research which is evident in the extensive Chronology and Glossary at the end of the biography. Readers who want to know more about Zelensky and recent events in Ukraine would definitely want to read this biography. Even with its shortcomings, it is a compelling read!
Serhii Rudenko was born in 1970 in the village of Stretskivka, 40 kilometers from the Russian border. He studied at the Faculty of Journalism of Kyiv State University. He apprenticed at Radio Svoboda, and since then has worked as a journalist and political commentator reporting for Ukrainian newspapers, radio, television, and online media. He has written several books about Ukrainian political figures such as Victor Yanukovich, Yulia Tymoshenko, and Viktor Yushchenko. Zelensky: A Biography was first published in 2022, and then revised in 2023.
Zelensky: A Biography is available at Chapters/Indigo and Amazon.
Rudenko, Serhii.
Translated by Olena Matiola, Michael M. Naydan, Alla Perminova and Sarah Sharpe.
ZELENSKY : A BIOGRAPHY.
Polity Press, 2023. 258 p. ISBN 978-1-5095-6067-7
Available at Chapters/Indigo and Amazon
Reviewed by Myra Junyk
