The other day I watched David Letterman interview Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky. If you’re a Netflix subscriber, I’d encourage you to watch it.
Full disclosure: I’m a fan of the president, although it wasn’t always the case. When he first came to power, I doubted he would be an effective leader. After all, we’d seen celebrities with no prior political experience come into positions of power with mixed results (to put it mildly).
Our nephew, originally from Ukraine but now a full-fledged Canadian citizen, tried to convince me otherwise. This was a guy who would try to fix Ukraine, he told me. In other words, he would stop the corruption and make Ukraine into a modern European nation.
That’s a tough task, but he did try. He began to reign in the power of the all-powerful oligarchs and pushed back against Russia, much to the chagrin of his chief adversary, Vladimir Putin.
Little did he know at the time that he would become a war-time president; that he would become Ukraine's chief spokesman, pleading for Western assistance on a nearly daily basis. Since the war began, Zelensky has taken on a mesmerizing appeal, so much so he’s been anointed Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.
All that attention appears to have not gone to his head. In a Kyiv subway station underground, possibly one of the safest places to hold an interview, Zelensky responded to Letterman’s questions as if he was having a conversation with a friend. There was passionate oratory, but also unscripted humour like when he noticed Letterman was drinking from the wrong water bottle.
It’s clear that he is not a narcissist. As much stardom as he has achieved abroad, he does not come across as attention-seeking. When Zelensky came to visit the recently liberated city of Kherson, a British journalist noted that he didn’t command the focus of attention. He simply showed his support, congratulating the troops who had made this victory possible.
Zelenzky may in fact be a greater hero in the West than he is in his own country. We admire his courage for not fleeing his country when Kyiv was under siege, yet to most Ukrainians, he was simply doing his job. With his life on the line, he is like most Ukrainians – struggling to survive a ruthless assault. An assault that now involves regular missile strikes against civilian infrastructure is intended to literally freeze Ukrainian society into submission.
While he has every reason to be filled with rage, it appears he hasn't allowed anger to cloud all rational thought. He acknowledges that most Russians have been deceived as they continue to support Putin in a losing battle. He also understands that a minority of Russians are too scared to voice their opposition to the war. This is life in a police state.
It is much different in Ukraine, where even comedians can be elected to office. Though the circumstances allow for fewer jokes, he did share one with Letterman, related to the war of course. He said he tries to smile every day, thankful that he is alive, but one can see in his eyes that he longs for an end. He joked that he would one day like to go the beach and drink a beer.
When that day will come is uncertain – not even Zelensky would venture a guess. The best beaches in Ukraine, the ones my wife used to go to as a child, are still under Russian occupation.
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