Volodymyr Selenskyj

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Volodymyr Selenskyj (2019)
signature
Cyrillic ( Ukrainian )
Володимир Олександрович Зеленський
Transl. : Volodymyr Oleksandrovyč Zelensʹkyj
Transcr. : Volodymyr Oleksandrowytsch Selenskyj
Cyrillic ( Russian )
Владимир Александрович Зеленский
Transl .: Vladimir Aleksandrovič Zelensky
Transcr .: Vladimir Alexandrovich Selensky

Volodymyr Oleksandrowytsch Selenskyj ( Ukrainian Володимир Олександрович Зеленський * January 25, 1978 in Krywyj Rih , Ukrainian SSR ) has been the 6th President of Ukraine since May 20, 2019  .

After studying law, he became an actor, voice actor, screenwriter, television presenter and film producer and in 2003 founded the film studio "Студія Квартал-95" (Studija Kwartal-95) . After Selenskyj on March 31, 2019 the first round of voting on 21 April, the runoff of the presidential election in Ukraine with about 73% of the votes cast clear before the incumbent president Petro Poroshenko won, he was on 20 May 2019 Kiev in the office introduced by the President.

Origin and education

Selenskyj was born in the industrial city of Krywyj Rih (Russian Krivoy Rog ) in the southeast of the then Soviet Ukraine ( Dnipropetrovsk Oblast ) to a Russian-speaking Jewish family. His father, Oleksandr Selenskyj (* 1947), is a former cybernetics professor who headed the academic department for cybernetics and computer hardware at the Krywyj Rih Institute for Economics , his mother, Rimma Selenska (* 1950) is an engineer. The family lived for four years in Erdenet in Mongolia , where the father was transferred.

After returning to Krywyj Rih, he graduated from high school No. 95 in 1995 and completed a law degree at the Institute of the National Wadym-Hetman Economic University in Kiev, but never worked as a lawyer afterwards. In 1997, Selenskyj co-founded the cabaret troupe “Kwartal 95” (“95th block of flats”) named after his district . The troupe toured for five years from Moscow through states of the former Soviet Union .

Selenskyj has been married to Olena Selenska (née Kijaschko) since 2003 and has two children.

Career

He became known nationwide in 2006 for his participation in the Ukrainian version of Dancing with the Stars . Between 2010 and 2013 he received the National Television Prize of Ukraine Teletrium (Teletriumph) several times .

With his cabaret company, he founded a television production company. In 2015, Zelenskyj appeared on the most watched TV channel in Ukraine 1 + 1 in the satirical TV series “ Servants of the People ” as history teacher Vasilyj Petrowytsch Holoborodko . The figure Holoborodko is disgusted by the corruption of Ukrainian politicians, campaigns on social media , raises money through a crowd-funding campaign and is suddenly elected president. As the President who remains honest, Holoborodko will then clean up the notoriously corrupt Ukrainian politics. The television series became the cornerstone of Zelenskyi's political breakthrough.

In September 2016, Zelenskyi caused a scandal in Ukraine when he called a "beggar" and Ukraine "an actress in a German adult film" in a parody of Petro Poroshenko , the former president Viktor Yanukovych and the Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko “Ready to accept any number on any page”. The journalist and political analyst Vitaly Portnykow then described Zelenskyi's humor as “inferior, tasteless, bourgeois and limited”.

Political career

Before taking office as President

Since the broadcast of the television series Sluha narodu (German: Servant of the People ) and the film of the same name at the end of 2016, rumors began about Zelenskyi's candidacy for the office of President of Ukraine. In 2017, Studio Kvartal 95's lawyer Ivan Bakanov registered the Sluha narodu party of the same name . Although he was not yet officially nominated as a presidential candidate for the 2019 presidential election in Ukraine , according to surveys, he was in second place in mid-November 2018, with eleven percent support among the Ukrainian population, after Julija Tymoshenko and ahead of incumbent President Petro Poroshenko Applicant for the presidency, later he was in first place with 24 percent in front of the two mentioned with 16 percent.

In reality, Zelenskyi only announced his candidacy for the election on New Year's Eve 2018 on TV channel 1 + 1. He was said to have a certain dependency on the Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomojskyj , as he works for the TV channel 1 + 1 and has a contract until 2022, on which Central European Media Enterprises , in addition to WarnerMedia with 49.9%, also Kolomojskyj with 50, 1% is involved.

As a presidential candidate, Selenskyj received massive support from Kolomoysky. Radio Free Europe revealed that Zelenskyj flew at least 14 times in 2017/2018, first to Kolomojskyj's then residence in exile in Geneva and then to Tel-Aviv - the last times in autumn 2018 after the decision to run for president. Kolomojskyj's longtime lawyer Andrij Bohdan played a prominent role on the campaign staff and was sent by him to talks with the head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). His bodyguards , who previously protected Kolomoisky when he was still living in Ukraine, also ensured Zelenskyi's safety and were paid by the oligarch. Kolomoyskyj announced his return to Ukraine should Zelenskyj win. In an interview, Zelenskyi replied to TV journalist Dmitry Gordon's question whether Ukraine will be ruled by Kolomoysky if Zelensky wins the presidential election - since he is just a pawn in check :

“I am an absolutely independent person. I don't want to offend anyone, but the one who will control me isn't born yet. "

- Volodymyr Selenskyj, December 26, 2018

Zelenskyj remained vague in his political program and thus offered a projection screen for the hopes of many Ukrainians. The Ukrainian public has long been disappointed by the inadequate fight against corruption and the “dominance of the old forces” in Ukraine, according to panelists from the Bertelsmann Foundation . When asked about his political program at a meeting in January 2019 with various ambassadors from EU countries, he referred to his advisers. Zelenskyi then asked his followers to make program suggestions via social media and published a four-page program at the end of January. The program ranged from the introduction of direct democracy and referendums to the participation of all Ukrainians in the national wealth, from birth to free choice of universities for outstanding high school graduates to road construction on a European level. His team of technocrats and people with political experience include the former finance minister Oleksandr Danyljuk , the former economy minister Aivaras Abromavičius and the journalist and Verkhovna Rada deputy Serhiy Leschchenko . Political scientist of the US foreign policy think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) Balázs Jarábik commented on the election results: "In times when promises are constantly broken, it seems to be a good strategy to make only no promises." It was only after the election victory that Zelenskyi made clearing up corruption and elite rule his goals.

According to Novaya Gazeta, the election of Zelenskyi is a demonstration for the entire post-Soviet region that a power can be replaced, that it is not sacred and that presidents are not determined long before the election. In the best case scenario, the choice breaks open a bad system. The NZZ wrote that Russia was skeptical and suspicious of the “lively political process in the neighboring country”. On Vedomosti, Vladimir Ruwinski wrote about whether Ukraine would become a role model for Russia and whether the phrase "Do you want it like in Ukraine?" Could lose its negative connotation. The Tel Aviv daily Haaretz stated that Ukraine was now the only country other than Israel that had both a Jewish president and a Jewish prime minister.

After his election victory, he received numerous congratulations from abroad: Emmanuel Macron , Donald Trump , Jens Stoltenberg , Justin Trudeau , Jean-Claude Juncker , Donald Tusk and Linas Linkevičius congratulated him on his success. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel also congratulated and invited Selenskyj to Berlin.

After his election, Zelenskyi received condescending advice from Prime Minister Medvedev in Russia, but no congratulations - "it was too early" for that. The presidential administration apparently advised the Russian state media not to praise Zelenskyi, and accordingly Dmitri Kisselev was very reluctant to take part in the second round of voting after earlier stressing Zelenskyi's “sincerity”. There was also no congratulations from Moscow at the inauguration.

A language law passed three days after his election victory by the Verkhovna Rada , which provides for the mandatory use of Ukrainian in authorities, was criticized by Zelenskyi, who would rather create incentives to promote the Ukrainian language instead of punishing them.

As acting President (since 2019)

Shortly after his inauguration on May 20, 2019 as the new President of Ukraine, Zelenskyi dissolved parliament. He announced new elections within the next two months. Zelenskyi did not have his own majority in parliament. In his inaugural address, which was partly in Russian, he named ending the war in the country as a priority. There could only be a dialogue with Russia if the Crimea were returned and prisoners of war released.

Zelenskyi also announced that it would lift the immunity of MPs and initiate an initiative against enrichment in office. In addition, he is seeking the dismissal of the attorney general and the chief of intelligence and has suggested that the entire government resign. High-ranking politicians, including Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak , followed the request. The Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Hroysman also announced his withdrawal.

During the Ukraine-EU summit on July 8, 2019 in Kiev, which also EU Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker took part, Selenskyj suggested in a video message to Vladimir Putin direct joint talks in the Belarusian Minsk for peaceful solution in Ukraine war ahead, in which, next to him and Putin, the American President Donald Trump , the British Prime Minister Theresa May , the French President Emmanuel Macron and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel are to take part. The Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov then announced that Russia was examining Zelenskyi's idea as a new initiative, and on July 11, 2019, Zelenskyj and Putin had a first telephone conversation. After the parliamentary election , which was successful for his party , he began domestic political reforms and at the beginning of September 2019 there was an exchange of prisoners with Russia, which Zelenskyj sees as a foreign policy success.

Tried quid pro quo by Trump

As early as May, Zelenskyi discussed with his advisers how to deal with the pressure from Trump and Giuliani . A phone call between US President Donald Trump and Selenskyj on July 25, 2019 led to the " Ukraine affair ". The American Democratic Party took the call as an opportunity to initiate preparations for impeachment proceedings against Trump. In the conversation, Trump is said to have asked Zelenskyi to initiate investigations against the possible US presidential candidate Joe Biden , as he is said to have initiated the dismissal of the Ukrainian attorney general Viktor Schokin in his position as US Vice President at the time , in order to kill his son Hunter Biden , who from 2014 served on the board of directors of the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings to protect against corruption investigations. Zelenskyi told a reporter from the television station Rossiya 24 before his speech at the United Nations that no one could put him under pressure because he was the president of an independent country. Only his six-year-old son is able to put him under pressure. However, at the time of the phone call, the US government was withholding nearly $ 400 million in military aid to Ukraine that had already been approved by Congress .

Peace talks 2019

On December 9, 2019, Zelenskyi attended a meeting in Normandy format , to which French President Emmanuel Macron had invited to Paris . The negotiations in the Élysée Palace with Macron, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Russian President Vladimir Putin , with whom Zelenskyi met here for the first time, led to an agreement on an exchange of prisoners, a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine by the end of the year and another troop withdrawal in three more Areas on a demarcation line until the end of March 2020. Furthermore, a commitment to the so-called Steinmeier formula was made in Paris , a suggestion going back to the then German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier to give the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk a special status and elections there under observation to be carried out by the OSCE .

In 2020 Zelenskyi declared Rosh Hashanah , the Jewish New Year, to be a national holiday.

Filmography

As an actor
  • 2005: Tri muschketjora (TV movie)
  • 2009: Lyubov w Bolshom Gorode
  • 2010: Lyubov w Bolschom Gorode 2
  • 2011: Sluschebnyj roman. Snack wremja
  • 2012: Rzhevsky protiv Napoleona
  • 2012: 8 first dates
  • 2012: Skasochnaja Rus (TV series)
  • 2014: Lyubov w Bolshom Gorode 3
  • 2014: Lyubov w Bolshom Gorode 3 (TV series)
  • 2015: 8 novych swidaniy
  • 2015: Servants of the People ( Sluha narodu , TV series)
  • 2016: 8 luchschich swidaniy
  • 2016: Servants of the People 2 ( Sluha narodu 2 , TV series)
  • 2018: Me You He She (post-production)
As a producer
  • 2009: Swaty 2 (TV series)
  • 2009: Swaty 3 (TV series)
  • 2010: Swaty 4 (TV series)
  • 2009–2010: Swaty (TV series, 3 episodes)
  • 2011: Nowogodnie swaty (TV movie)
  • 2011: Sluschebnyj roman. Snack wremja
  • 2011: Swaty 5 (TV series)
  • 2012: Rzhevsky protiv Napoleona
  • 2012: Papaschi (TV series)
  • 2012: 8 first dates
  • 2012: Tschempiony is podworotni (TV mini-series)
  • 2012: Yes budu rjadom
  • 2013: 1 + 1 doma (television)
  • 2013: Swaty 6 (TV series)
  • 2014: Lyubov w Bolschom Gorode 3 (TV series, 8 episodes)
  • 2016: Servants of the People 2 ( Sluha narodu 2 , TV series)
As a screenwriter
  • 2005: Tri muschketjora (TV movie)
  • 2006: Kuschat podano!
  • 2008: Swaty (TV series)
  • 2009: Lyubov w Bolschom Gorode (idea)
  • 2011: Sluschebnyj roman. Snack wremja
  • 2011: Legenda. Lyudmila Gurchenko (TV movie)
As a voice actor

Web links

Commons : Wolodymyr Selenskyj  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Results of the presidential elections in Ukraine 2019. Online vote counting in Ukraine-Pravda from March 31, 2019, accessed on April 1, 2019 (Ukrainian)
  2. ↑ Results of the presidential elections in Ukraine 2019 (second ballot) on the website of the Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine on April 21, 2019; accessed on April 21, 2019 (Ukrainian)
  3. ↑ Volodymyr Selenskyj-New Ukrainian President dissolves parliament on spiegel.de ; accessed on May 20, 2019
  4. ^ Jewish comedian who plays Ukrainian president on TV runs for the job. January 8, 2019, accessed February 24, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Корреспондент: Как живут украинские евреи. Retrieved February 24, 2019 (Russian).
  6. ↑ a b biography of Volodymyr Selenskyj on informationcradle.com ; accessed on April 26, 2019 (English)
  7. ↑ TV star, top manager, comedian: This man wants to be the new Ukrainian president in Focus on March 22, 2019; accessed on March 24, 2019
  8. ↑ a b c d The popular millionaire and comedian. In: The Bund. April 22, 2019 .
  9. ↑ a b If Zelensky goes to the presidency of Ukraine: What should one know about a possible candidate? October 22, 2018; accessed on November 16, 2018 (Ukrainian)
  10. ↑ Wife of Volodymyr Zelenskyj on bez-makiyazha.ru March 28, 2013; accessed on November 16, 2018 (Russian)
  11. ↑ Teletriumph
  12. ↑ Matthias Schwartz: THE "SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE". Volodymyr Zelenskyi's presidency in Ukraine. Retrieved June 6, 2020 .
  13. ↑ ПО ПРАВУ ХАМА: ВОЛОДИМИР ЗЕЛЕНСЬКИЙ ВІДМОВИВСЯ ВІД УЧАСТІ В ПІТЧИНГУ ДЕРЖКІНО in Ukrajina Moloda from September 14, 2016; accessed on April 25, 2019 (Ukrainian)
  14. ↑ Survey Ukraine: Tymoshenko is ahead of Poroshenko in Deutsche Wirtschaftsnachrichten from November 16, 2018; accessed on November 16, 2018
  15. ↑ a b Ukraine on the eve of the elections: Everyone follows everyone , Novaya Gazeta, March 28, 2019
  16. ↑ The Ukrainian top comedian applies for president atlanticcouncil.org January 2, 2019; accessed on February 25, 2019
  17. ↑ Poroshenko threatens to be voted out of office: A comedian could lead Ukraine , n-tv , March 9, 2019.
  18. ↑ The man who persuaded Zelenskyi to run for office
  19. ↑ This actor wants to become Ukrainian president. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. 4th February 2019 .
  20. ↑ Pavel Lokshin: The puppet masters behind Poroschenkos challenger. In: www.welt.de. April 20, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2019 .
  21. ↑ ЭКСКЛЮЗИВ «ГОРДОНА». Зеленский: Если меня выберут президентом, сначала будут обливать грязью, затем - уважать, а потом - плакать, когда уйду Больше читайте тут , gordonua.com of December 26, 2019. Retrieved on March 31, 2019
  22. ↑ No joke: TV comedian Volodymyr Selenskyj new President of Ukraine. In: Profile. April 23, 2019 .
  23. ↑ Miriam Kosmehl: Fighting Corruption in Ukraine - A Preliminary Balance Sheet , Bertelsmann Stiftung dated February 26, 2019, accessed on April 15, 2019
  24. ↑ This actor wants to become Ukrainian president. In: SZ. 4th March 2019 .
  25. ↑ Vladimir Zelensky pronounced the names of his team members , barometr.info of March 20, 2019
  26. ↑ In Ukraine's election, a comedian might be voters' best choice , edition.cnn.com, March 30
  27. ↑ Simone Brunner: Ukraine: He laughs away crisis, war and corruption , zeit.de from April 1, 2019
  28. ↑ Zelenskyj declares war on corruption , ZDF Nachrichten from April 22, 2019
  29. ^ The Kremlin is looking for friends , Novaya Gazeta March 23, 2019
  30. ↑ a b Ukraine wishes a fresh start , NZZ, April 23, 2019, front page
  31. ↑ a b Хотим как на Украине - 2 , Vedomosti, May 21, 2019
  32. ↑ What Zelenskyi's victory over Ukraine says. In: Der Spiegel. April 26, 2019 .
  33. ↑ Support of the West: The heads of state and government of the world congratulate Volodymyr Zelenskyj on the victory on the official website of Volodymyr Zelenskyj and team, accessed on April 25, 2019 (Ukrainian)
  34. ^ "Project (magazine)": The Kremlin advised the federal channels "not to praise Zelensky" , Novaya Gazeta, April 24, 2019
  35. ↑ Not Moscow's husband in zeit.de of April 26, 2019; accessed on April 26, 2019
  36. ↑ a b Zelensky announces new elections . In: tagesschau.de, May 20, 2019 (accessed May 20, 2019).
  37. ^ EU-Ukraine summit, Kyiv, Ukraine, 8 July 2019 on the European Council website ; accessed on July 9, 2019
  38. ↑ Ukrainian President Zelenskyi offers Putin a meeting on Deutsche Welle on July 8, 2019; accessed on July 9, 2019
  39. ↑ Ukraine conflict - Putin and Selenskyj speak for the first time in spiegel.de on July 11, 2019; accessed on July 13, 2019
  40. ↑ If you want change in Russia, you have to invest in Ukraine now in Handelsblatt of September 9, 2019
  41. ↑ https://apnews.com/b048901b635f423db49a10046daaf8a8
  42. ↑ Minutes of the conversation published: Trump asked Selenskyj to investigate Biden . In: Spiegel Online . September 25, 2019 ( spiegel.de [accessed September 25, 2019]).
  43. ↑ tagesschau.de: Democrats are taking steps for Trump's impeachment proceedings. Retrieved September 25, 2019 .
  44. ↑ Volodymyr Selenskij comments on the controversial phone call in Zeit online on September 25, 2019; accessed on September 26, 2019
  45. ↑ Ukraine summit in Paris: Participants agree on a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine by the end of 2019 . In: Spiegel Online . December 10, 2019 ( spiegel.de [accessed December 10, 2019]).
  46. ^ SPIEGEL ONLINE: East Ukraine Conflict: How Frank-Walter Steinmeier wants to create peace. Retrieved December 10, 2019 .
  47. ↑ Ukraine declares Rosh Hashanah a national holiday , August 19, 2020. Accessed on August 23, 2020.
  48. ↑ Vladimir Zelenskiy Producer imdb.com, accessed April 19, 2019
  49. ↑ Vladimir Zelenskiy Producer imdb.com, accessed April 19, 2019
  50. ↑ Vladimir Zelenskiy Writer imdb.com, accessed April 19, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Zelenskyi, Volodymyr
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Selenskyj, Volodymyr Oleksandrovytsch (full name); Зеленський, Володимир Олександрович (Ukrainian); Зеленский, Владимир Александрович (Russian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ukrainian actor, screenwriter, TV presenter, film producer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH January 25, 1978
PLACE OF BIRTH Krywyj Rih , Ukrainian SSR