Russian President Vladimir Putin's brutal and totally unfair invasion of Ukraine has left the world in a tizzy.
This is an unprecedented conflict in modern times, as Thomas L. Friedman wrote in The New York Times. "Welcome to a wired world war - the first war in a completely interconnected world," Friedman writes, citing TikTok and other social media platforms with satellite and live traffic data on Google Maps.
It's a massive invasion that is being "livestreamed, minute by minute, fight by fight, death by death, for the world," as Daniel Johnson, an Iraq War veteran and journalist, wrote in Slate. Those of us lucky enough to be miles away from missile strikes, gunfire and shelling are watching the events happening in real time on smart phones and other screens.
And the heroic figure at the center of this war is none other than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a former actor and comedian who rose to prominence playing a character in a popular TV show who accidentally became Ukrainian President. . Zelensky then swept his success in politics, running for office in 2019 on the back of a political party named after his show "Servant of the People".
Imagine a country where a television star could become the president and be the epitome of courage!
Ukraine has interested me as a country since my first visit as a college student in 1969, when it was a miserable member-state of the Soviet Union. I remember making the mistake of calling Ukraine a "Russian satellite" and was quickly slapped by a patriotic gentleman, who told me in no uncertain terms that Ukraine had its own favorite language, literature, history, music and culture. There were traditions.
In August 1991, Ukraine officially and proudly withdrew from the Soviet Union, but the transition to a full democracy has not been easy, as corruption has plagued the government for decades. At the time of Zelensky's election, I was quite skeptical. The character he played in the TV show was a reformer, and the show skewed political classes in Ukraine as well as neighboring Russia, Belarus and Georgia. His fellow Ukrainians chose him to do in real life what he did on television - sweep away corruption with a big broom.
But Zelensky's success was limited and his popularity declined after a few years. By October 2021, surveys showed that their approval ratings had gone into freefall.
But sometimes history comes to a politician's rescue, and the past week has transformed Zelensky from a rapidly declining presidency into a national hero at large. He has shown himself to be a man who has dug into himself and found an inspiring store of courage. When the United States offered to take him out of Ukraine, he stood up, saying, "The fight is here; I want ammunition, not a ride."
He has posted several videos online, and he has inspired a fierce defiance among the Ukrainian people. In a video titled "We are here. We are in Kiev. We are defending Ukraine," Zelensky can be seen surrounded by his top advisers. "We are all here. Our army is here. Civilians and society are here," he says. "We are defending our freedom, our state, and it will remain so."
Zelensky, a fluent Russian speaker, also appealed to Russians in another video, urging them to "stop the liars, lie to you, lie to us, lie to everyone, lie to the whole world. We have to fight this war." Need to end. We can live in peace, in global peace."
His gift for communication and his remarkable understanding of social media make him a formidable rival to Putin, even though the army he commands is fewer in numbers and resources than Russia's.
At this time no one can even imagine the end result of this war. But we know for sure that Zelensky has proven himself to be a hero of his time and a worthy spokesman for liberal democracy and Ukrainian independence.
They have boldly challenged Putin's logic of unrestrained aggression, laying the groundwork for a future where the Ukrainian people once again have the right to self-determination.
Salute to you, Mr. Zelensky. The world is behind you.