Zelenskyy celebrates 46th birthday. How president has changed during years in power
Volodymyr Zelenskyy tuns 46 (Photo: Getty Images)
On January 25, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy celebrates his 46th birthday. This year, he prohibited any birthday greetings until the details of the Il-76 crash in Russia are clarified.
RBC-Ukraine tells the story of how Volodymyr Zelenskyy has changed after his 5 years in power.
During the material preparation, sources such as the President's Office YouTube channel, Wikipedia, Hromadske, and President.gov.ua were used.
How Zelenskyy came to power
On the night of January 1, 2019, Zelenskyy announced his intention to run for the presidency of Ukraine. By March 1, in the first round of the election, 30.24% of voters (5,714,034 people) voted for Zelenskyy. In the second round, he defeated Petro Poroshenko, receiving 73.22% of the votes.
On May 20, 2019, Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially became the President of Ukraine, taking the oath.
"My election proves: citizens are tired of experienced, systemic, inflated politicians who, in 28 years, have created a country of 'kickbacks,' 'flows,' and 'split-ups.' We will build a country of different opportunities, where everyone is equal before the law, and where there are honest and transparent rules of the game. And for this, people who will serve the people must come to power," Zelenskyy said during his inaugural speech.
One of the secrets of Zelenskyy's election success was that Ukrainians at that time were voting not so much for him as against Poroshenko. Another significant factor was Zelenskyy's statement that he would only serve one presidential term.
Experts predicted a decline in Zelenskyy's ratings almost immediately after the election results were announced. However, this did not happen even after a year in power.
Zelenskyy during the inauguration (Photo: Wikipedia)
Zelenskyy became the youngest president of Ukraine (Photo from open sources)
May 2019 (president.gov.ua)
During the parliamentary election in 2019 (Photo: Pryamyi)
Volodymyr Zelenskyy with his wife Olena Zelenska in 2020 (Photo from open sources)
New Year's greetings in 2021 (screenshot from the video)
2021 (Photo: Glavcom)
How the president has changed during the full-scale invasion
In a conversation with journalists in 2022, Zelenskyy admitted that he started allocating about 5-6 hours for sleep unless there were force majeure situations. In the first months, he practically lived in the Presidential Office.
"It is very difficult to assess whether his character has changed. I can say that there are traits that have now become sharper and more important. These are stubbornness, purposefulness, and endurance. These traits are important for any person, but in the situation we are all in now, they are very important for the president of our country," said Olena Zelenska about her husband.
2022 (Photo: president.gov.ua)
2022 (Photo: president.gov.ua)
2022 (Photo: president.gov.ua)
2022 (Photo: president.gov.ua)
2022 (Photo: president.gov.ua)
2022 (Photo: president.gov.ua)
2022 (Photo: president.gov.ua)
2023 (Photo: president.gov.ua)
2023 (Photo: RBC-Ukraine/Vitalii Nosach)
The First Lady also noted that Zelenskyy has become more sentimental about simple things. The reason for this, according to Olena, is the lack of communication with family and children.
"You can now please him with any little thing related to children, send a photo of the son, or tell what the daughter said. And it touches him very much now. He wasn't so sensitive before," the woman shared.
With the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the president switched from strict suits to military style and began appearing in them even at official events. The head of state became significantly tougher in behavior, noticeable from the style of his speeches and negotiation tactics.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Olena Zelenska (Photo: instagram.com/zelenskyy_official)
2024 (Photo: president.gov.ua)
2024 (Photo: president.gov.ua)
