ZYelenky made Ukrainians laugh, and now he makes them believe. In free Ukraine without war. A biography of the President of Ukraine – a man who was once a comedian and actor – is now on newsstands in Portugal. The work is written by Sergey Rudenko, editor-in-chief of Espresso TV and a reviewer for Deutsche Welle, and consists of 38 chapters, designed to show a portrait of Vladimir “without makeup”.

O News by the minute exclusively publishes the preface to the biography, now available in Portuguese bookstores.

“Political Oscar Zelensky”

It was eight o’clock in the evening on April 21, 2019, when Volodymyr Zelensky, accompanied by his team, appeared before journalists to the sound of the Servo do Povo series soundtrack. At that moment, it seemed that all 73 percent of Ukrainian voters who supported the winning candidate were singing this simple song along with him.

Ukrainian and foreign journalists, who filled the hall of the Parkovy business center, were impatiently waiting for the triumphant speech of the newly elected president. Zelensky beamed. And, like him, all those who accompanied him on the path to victory: Andriy Bogdan, Dmitry Razumkov, Kirill Timoshenko, Andriy Yermak, Alexander Danilyuk and the President’s wife Elena. In a cloud of confetti hanging in the air, the members of the campaign staff seemed to be ready to dance with joy in front of a noisy hall. “Together we managed to do this…” Zelensky began in his unmistakable voice. Like all actors, when receiving an Oscar, he began by thanking his team, family, wife Elena, and even two cleaning ladies from the campaign headquarters, Oksana and Lyuba. He did not forget to mention the symbolic sector 73 of the Olympic-10 stadium, where, together with his team, he created the famous video of the “Become a stadium” action.

Volodymyr still clung to his role as Vasily Goloborodko, tried to joke, taunt the Security Service of Ukraine, which kept him on his toes throughout the election campaign, and demonstrated optimism. It seemed that, saying goodbye to his career as a comedian, Zelensky expected to be met with the same applause on the political stage. It is understandable, because he is used to popularity and the cries of “Bravo!”, “Bis!”. No wonder. He has already been applauded in the big concert halls of Moscow, Kyiv, Odessa, Jurmala, Minsk and many other cities of the former USSR, which have watched the rise of the star of Vladimir Zelensky since 1997, when he became the winner of a comedy TV show. Entertainment and Insight Club, presented by Alexander Maslyakov.

From day to day, the young actor, who is only 19 years old, woke up famous. Until he became president, he remained a popular actor and dabbled in the Ukrainian public. Could he have imagined on that night of April 21, 2019, after a landslide victory in the presidential election, that in just six months he would hear cries of “Shame!” and “Down with Zelensky!” And this will be said not only by supporters of his main opponent, Petro Poroshenko, but also by many volunteers, the military and politicians. Within months of taking office, he began firing those who had led him to victory. The first to leave was NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Danilyuk, allegedly because he was offended that he was not given the post of prime minister. He was followed by the head of the presidential administration, Andrei Bogdan, who followed his first steps in politics.

Prime Minister Oleksiy Goncharuk and Prosecutor General Ruslan Ryaboshapka were next to lose their posts. All these personalities were Zelensky’s team, elected by the country on April 21, 2019. Because until the end of the presidential campaign there was not a single politician named Zelensky. Never. He was a talented humorist, manager of the Inter TV channel and the Kvartal 95 studio. The actor who played the primary school teacher Goloborodko, who turned out to be the leader of the country in the series. His image as president was created by his team. Three years ago, the sixth president of Ukraine promised: “I swear I will never let you down.” Since then, we have seen Zelensky in different circumstances. He and his team were accused of unprofessionalism. They were accused of corruption, arrogance and even high treason. However, since February 24, 2022 – the first day of Russian aggression against the Ukrainian state – we have discovered Zelensky, unfamiliar to us; a man who was not afraid to accept Putin’s challenge and lead the resistance of the Ukrainian people to Russian aggression.

The President, who managed in this struggle to unite his supporters and opponents, corrupt and anti-corruption activists, children and adults, people of different nationalities and religious beliefs. The head of state was applauded by European parliaments and the US Congress. The episodes from the life of the sixth president of Ukraine, presented in this book, are the pieces of the puzzle that make up the portrait of Vladimir Zelensky. A man without political experience and relevant knowledge, who promised the Ukrainians that he would change the country. A man trusted by 13.5 million voters. There will be no moralism, partiality or manipulation in this book. Only facts. 12 I tried to create a portrait of the 6th President of Ukraine without makeup. Whether I succeeded or not is for the readers to judge.

Sergey Rudenko

14.31 euros© Casa das Letras

See also: Zelensky’s first biography entered bookstores in Portugal

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