Young Volodymyr Zelensky and old Vladimir Putin, the attacked and the aggressor, are the two faces of the war between Ukraine and Russia that shocked the world as soon as it emerged from the pandemic. Both Russian-speaking, they are symbols of the two opposing views of the world after the collapse of the USSR into which they were born. The former actor-turned-politician sees a future in the West, while the former KGB agent dreams of building a sort of new USSR, replacing communism with a nationalist ideology. And if Putin never mentions Zelensky, the latter doesn’t hesitate to say that the war he unleashed will end when the Kremlin leader dies.
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Zelensky was crowned Time’s Man of the Year. And there is no doubt that he was able to embody Ukraine’s spirit of resilience in the face of the February 24 Russian aggression. As an actor and politician, Zelensky understood the importance of symbols early on. “I don’t want a ride, I want ammunition,” he told the United States, who planned to flee Kyiv on the day of the invasion. Almost ten months later, the US Congress gave him an ovation on his first trip abroad, after Zelenskyy and his family had always stayed in Ukraine and braved the bombs.
His grown beard and army green shirt are iconic of a president next to his soldiers. And indeed, Zelensky more than once went to the front or to the liberated areas to support the military. Every day, the President of Ukraine speaks to citizens, via video or on social media to keep the spirit of resistance alive, while countless speeches are delivered online to allied countries’ parliaments or at international events.
Zelensky is 44 years old and leads a country that was born just over 30 years ago. His government has existed for forty years, with the head of the armed forces Valerii Zaluzhni, who is 49, and the influential head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, who is only 36. The Ukrainian President is the symbol of a generation in which he feels comfortable with the digital, which even before the invasion wanted to leave the Soviet past behind to become part of the West. And those who have shown unity, resilience and a spirit of adjustment in war also use the weapon of irony to meet the difficulties of war. Zelenskyy’s strong bond with his wife Olena, who replaced him at diplomatic missions abroad, is a message of normality for Ukrainians, of a president “like all of us”.
From the Kremlin, which he himself described as a “besieged fortress” in the confrontation with the West, the 70-year-old Putin appears as a completely opposite character. With icy eyes and an impenetrable face, he wants to be the symbol of an eternal Russia rooted in the past. As little as possible is known about his private life. While before the war Putin was often photographed playing sports in a macho attitude, he now wants to appear as a tough leader determined to build a new nationalist Russian empire, heir to the Tsarist and Soviet.
The Kremlin boss reports on television with his generals to show that he has the situation under control and that he is very careful about his image. But he doesn’t always achieve the desired effect, such as the famous photo of the long table between him and French President Emmanuel Macron, which in the end conveys a feeling of isolation. Or the one of him with a blanket on his knees, surrounded by military elders, at the Victory Parade of World War II, symbol of an elite of old men sending young soldiers to their deaths.
Since Putin unleashed what he keeps calling a “special operation,” Putin has never gone to the front lines. And while the war that was supposed to last a few days has been going on for ten months, one gets the impression that he wants to avoid any risk of argument, lack of enthusiasm or uncomfortable questions as Russia becomes more and more of an authoritarian state. After a rally in Moscow in March in support of the war, which required buses of participants to attend, Putin kept public appearances to a minimum. Other encounters, such as those with the soldiers’ mothers, appear carefully choreographed with hand-picked participants. The year-end press conference, the parliamentary speech on the state of the nation and the traditional participation in the New Year’s ice hockey game on Red Square in Moscow were canceled.
Putin’s propaganda, which justifies the war with the supposed need to fight the Ukrainian “Nazis” and defend against NATO, continues to capture much of public opinion, but arouses more resignation than enthusiasm. And it’s a propaganda focused on the past that works especially well with the elderly, while many young people have fled abroad to avoid becoming cannon fodder in Ukraine.