On the first day of the Russian invasion, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy set the tone for his country's mood of defiance by declining separate offers from the United States and Turkey to flee the capital Kyiv.
“The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride,” he said, demonstrating from the beginning of the war a penchant for memorable soundbites.
Zelenskiy’s gifts as a performer before entering politics have been apparent as he exhorts his fellow Ukrainians to resist the Russian invasion while cajoling the international community to do more.
He is now among the most recognisable people in the world, but in 2017, when he visited Ireland, nobody outside the Ukrainian and Russian-speaking communities knew who he was.
The ones who did know filled the TLT Theatre in Drogheda for a one-off show on November 4th, 2017. "He was the number one star in Ukraine, " said the promoter Nick Levchenko who brought him to Ireland.
Levchenko has been living in Ireland for 22 years. Before the pandemic, he made his living as a promoter with his company Zavedenie Events putting on discos and shows for Ireland's Eastern European community, mostly those who have Russian as their first language.
Occasionally he would bring over stars of Russian and Ukrainian TV and they did not come much bigger than Zelenskiy at the time. In 2015, Zelenskiy’s comedy drama Servant of the People was first shown on Ukrainian TV. It featured a lowly history teacher whose rant about the state of the country is secretly filmed by a pupil. The rant goes viral and the Zelenskiy character becomes an accidental president.
Art imitated life when Zelenskiy became Ukrainian president in 2019, but there was no talk of him running for office when he visited Ireland in 2017.
Zelenskiy brought his team with him from his production company Kvartal 95 for a song and dance revue. Video footage from the night shows they got a great reception from the crowd which was mostly Ukrainian, but also Russian and from the ex-Soviet Union countries. The concert was performed in Russian, Zelenskiy's first language.
“The concert sold out very quickly. The response from the Ukrainian community was huge. It was a dream come through that he came to Ireland,” says Levchenko.
“All the people were just happy to be there. They didn’t want to leave after the concert. They hugged each and sang songs. They felt very proud after the gig.”
The concert ended up with a rap duet between Zelenskiy and Eugene Koshovy, his co-star in Servant of the People. The song had political overtones. Ukraine was compared to a woman; Russia to an overbearing man.
Zelenskiy’s patriotism was apparent at the time, the promoter recalled. “He always promoted Ukraine. He had been talking for a long time about corruption in Ukraine. He wanted to bring peace in Ukraine. The song is all about politics. The whole audience stood at the end and applauded him.”
Afterwards Zelenskiy and the other performers signed an Irish flag which they took back to Ukraine with them.
Zelenskiy and his wife Olena spent three more days in Ireland. Levchenko took the pair around Dublin where they visited the Guinness Store House and a few pubs. Zelenskiy was impressed with Áras an Uachtaráin, recalls Levchenko, and how accessible Irish politicians seemed to be to the Irish public.
They then drove west to the Cliffs of Moher where the couple met more delighted Ukrainian expatriates.
“Ireland seemed to him like a magical place with all different houses and different colours. He liked to see the people with smiling faces. He was very happy to be in Ireland. I am not just saying it but he was very keen to come to Ireland.”
He was taken by Ireland, Levchenko says, and expressed a desire to return some day.
He will get a different reception when he addresses the Dáil on Wednesday. He has become the personification of his country’s resistance to Russian aggression.
Levchenko says he was honoured to act as Zelenskiy’s election agent in Ireland in 2019. The community abroad has a vote in that election.
He hopes that Zelenskiy will thank the Irish people for taking in refugees and for the support of the Irish Government which is providing humanitarian support.
“He is an incredible person. He is a strong man, very brave and we are very proud of him in Ukraine.”
