Thread by @mxpoliakov

Ok, I have a confession to make. I didn't vote for Zelensky in 2019. It was rather horrifying to me that he could have become president back then. These are my thoughts about 🇺🇦 growing as a nation and Zelensky's transformation 🧵

This is a statue of Zelensky in Estonia. If someone told me in 2018 that Zelensky would become the president of Ukraine, it would be the most ridiculous thing ever to happen. Simply not possible.

Why would he? He was just a comedian, and I never liked him or his comedic show. The jokes were too plain for me. Some of them might be The "Servant of the People" TV show is just a stupid populist utopia. Sane people should understand this, right?

But when he entered the campaign, I realized he had a chance to win. It was terrifying. Zelensky, back then, wasn't Russophobic enough. He said that we "just need to stop shooting to end the war." Or that he would need "to look Putin in the eye," and they understand each other 🫠

I don't think that Zelensky knew Ukrainian history that well. About how Russia has always tried to subdue and colonize us for ages. How the Ukrainian was almost driven to extinction or the Holodomor. He had no problem acting in Russian movies before 2014 or hosting shows in 🇷🇺

He had other crazy populist ideas, like cutting taxes to 10% and increasing teachers' salaries five times (with what money?). But his soft line on Russia was why I would never vote for him. But the majority did anyway.

What is the secret? He can understand what precisely citizens want. Zelensky immediately channels this message to the public. For example, are you tired of corrupt politicians? Ok, we will sentence all of them to prison in one month.

Deep down, you know it won't be like that. But most citizens supported him because it was what they wanted, whether this was a realistic goal or not. I voted for former president Poroshenko because while the reforms were slow, we had steady growth, and I knew what to expect.

And so did most of my friends. We were shocked that Zelensky won with a landslide. During his first month in power, he did not cede Donbas to Russia, and we continued our path to the EU and NATO. Ukrainian institutions worked with a dramatic power shift, like in old democracies.

The country simply was running as is. For the first time in history, we had a one-party majority in the parliament. But it was not bad since many needed reforms were passed pretty quickly without endless bargaining.

Zelensky met with Putin but immediately understood that a fair deal with Russia was impossible. We were a normal country with routine East European problems. Trying to reform, fight corruption, going through COVID, and join the EU in 20 years or so.

But what is most important is that while being in power, Zelensky understood what Russia is. That the only path for Ukraine is to join the EU and NATO. It is important to appreciate Ukrainian history and reveal the truth about Russian crimes.

It became clear that no matter who our president was, Ukraine would NEVER be Russia again. And that is when Russia decided they could occupy Ukraine in 3 days. They thought Ukraine had a weak government, but it was the opposite. Ukraine as a nation was the strongest in history.

This is why Zelensky did not flee on 24 February 2022. Yes, he had courage. But he also knew that he had a strong army and the will of the people to resist invaders with all means. That is the thing that made a crucial difference.

Ukraine grew as a nation and transformed Zelensky into the hero he is now. He is channeling our rage and right to justice against invaders to the West. His charisma is perfect for that. Gradually, we will get all support and weapons we need to defeat Russia.