It is Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine and symbol of the “Ukrainian spirit”, the person of the year according to the «Time».
“Zelensky’s success as a wartime leader was based on the fact that courage is contagious,” he writes journalist Simon Shuster in arguing this choice. “His professional instincts, derived from a life as an actor on the stage, led him to be able to read people and to react to their moods and expectations of them. Suddenly, his audience was the world. And he was determined not to let him down.” A recognition, in a nutshell, which confirms the great charisma that the Ukrainian leader – previously underestimated by many – was unexpectedly able to show after the Russian attack.
After the escalation that led to a war that unfortunately still promises to be far from its resolution, writes «Time», «Zelensky participated in the World Economic Forum in Davos and in the NATO summit in Madrid. He gave interviews to talk show hosts and reporters and had live chats with students at Stanford, Harvard and Yale. He has used the fame of entertainment superstars to amplify his calls for international support. Jessica Chastain and Ben Stiller visited its fortified headquarters. Liev Schreiber has agreed to become an ambassador for Ukraine’s official fundraising platform. Sean Penn brought an Oscar statuette to Kiev and left it with Zelensky. Then, the president allowed a team of technicians to create a 3D hologram with the likeness of him, which was later projected at conferences around Europe ». Actions which, as Andriy Yermak, the president’s chief of staff explained to «Time», go in one direction: «’If we lose attention, we are in danger’».
Well, Zelensky certainly knew how to keep that attention alive. He was able to tell it, spread it, make it recognizable. You have been able to involve the Ukrainians, making the Ukrainian courage an international brand. “Instead of running for their lives, many Ukrainians grabbed whatever weapons they could find and ran to defend their cities from an invading force armed with tanks and attack helicopters,” writes Time. For this, today Zelensky is awarded Person of the Year. A recognition that is probably also a way to do one’s part in keeping that attention alive, with a cover that portrays the face of the Ukrainian president.
More stories from Vanity Fair that may interest you:
G20, Zelensky: «Here are the 10 points needed to achieve peace»
Sean Penn and the Oscar to Zelensky: «When you win the war, you will bring it back to me»
All of Zelensky’s speeches
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Source: Vanity Fair
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