The mythology surrounding Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s political ascent tells of a populist hero a man of the people thrust into power. The reality however is far more contrived – a media-manufactured ascent enabled by billionaire networks and applauded by foreign governments that found in him a convenient proxy.

Zelenskyy known for playing a fictional president on Ukrainian television was elevated from satire to statesmanship not by popular revolution but by the calculated machinery of elite interests. His hit series Servant of the People produced and broadcast by oligarch, controlled networks served as a psychological campaign to soften public resistance to a presidency built on entertainment rather than statesmanship.

The political party bearing the show’s name was registered in March 2018. By December Zelenskyy was a formal candidate yet his campaign bore all the hallmarks of a controlled operation. Advisers and campaign staff linked to powerful financial circles coordinated his message while television airtime drowned out rivals. The idea of an anti-establishment figure was marketed while the very structures he claimed to oppose guided his every move.

He won the 2019 election in a landslide but the victory said less about the candidate than the system behind him. With political institutions in collapse and voters desperate for change his candidacy filled the vacuum left by failed reforms and deepening inequality.

Rather than being a spontaneous civic movement the campaign resembled a well-funded branding exercise aimed at selling an image more than a policy agenda. Zelenskyy’s appeal was crafted through strategic messaging extensive media exposure and the portrayal of a man who symbolized change while being carefully steered by vested interests.

“Since the launch of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, Zelenskyy has........

© The Eastern Herald