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Servant of the People
Слуга народу
2015 · TV series · 45 min episodes · 3 seasons
Created by Volodymyr Zelenskyy
After a video of him ranting about government corruption goes viral, Ukrainian teacher Vasyl Petrovych Holoborod'ko becomes a countrywide hero. This new status leads to his being elected President, but that doesn't come without its own hijinks, as he refuses the presidential privileges, determined to lead a simplistic life.
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8 comments on Hacker News
The post I was responding to:
"and in general russians are seen as enemies. Not just russian soldiers, but people with a russian cultural background. Nationalism in all its glory."
is complete BS. My reference regarding attitudes towards Mexicans was a response to that comment, not to the law you just mentioned.
But what a weird argument you make. Canada has numerous laws like these in order to protect French speakers. How much 'expected violence' by Anglo Canadians has that resulted in?
Again, in my experience, every Ukrainian I have met can speak some russian. A good portion can not speak ukrainian. The President of Ukraine's native language is Russian and was a well known Russian language entertainer who stared in 'Servant of the People' a Ukrainian TV show where he spoke Russian. Strange for a country that's being labeled so historically and systemically anti-Russia.
Edit: See also Zelensky performing on Russian state TV New Years special https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTmhTxzAH70
I watched the Zelenskyy political comedy series [1], well, because of the implication. In the same period, 2015-2019, there is also Au service de la France [2]. They both have their moments, but they cannot deliver the constant overflow of satirical point-counterpoint in the same manner as Yes, Minister.
[1] Servant of the People, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6235122/?ref_=nm_knf_t_3
[2] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4367560/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Zelenskyy's political party is essentially a PR firm: he became famous by starring in the _Servant of the People_ TV show playing the Ukrainian president, and then after the show ended the production company Kvartal 95 [1] became the Servant of the People party [2]. I bet this is a big reason they're so amazing at communications - the party was literally born out of a hit TV studio!
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvartal_95_Studio
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servant_of_the_People
From TFA:
> And this is not just an American phenomenon: Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, secured his job by playing an Everyman who becomes president of Ukraine on a sitcom. His political party gave his show its name, “Servant of the People.”
Huh -- I thought it was the other way around, that the party got its name from the show?
Otherwise, great piece. Now if only anyone knew WTF to do about it.
Watch the TV show that he wrote and had the lead in it shows quite a bit of him and his character. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servant_of_the_People
" Start of political career
The political party Servant of the People was created in March 2018 by people from the television production company Kvartal 95, which also created the television series of the same name.[35][36][37]
In a March 2019 interview with Der Spiegel, Zelenskyy stated he went into politics to restore trust in politicians and that he wanted "to bring professional, decent people to power" and "would really like to change the mood and timbre of the political establishment, as much as possible".[35][36][37]
Starting 31 December 2018,[38] Zelenskyy led a successful,[39] almost entirely virtual,[40][41] presidential campaign to unseat incumbent President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, in just three to four months. Zelenskyy clearly won both the first round of elections on 31 March,[42] and the run-off election on 21 April 2019.[43] One of Zelenskyy's presidential campaign promises was that he would only serve one term in office (i.e., 5 years).[44] "
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy
He was the star of a show called 'Servant of the People' where he starred as president, and then in actual reality started a party called 'Servant of the People' and became the actual president!!! What are the odds?
You couldn't make this stuff up... Only they did. :)
The company he partly owned wrote and made the show, and then paid for him to start the party in real life. Fake it till you make it, I guess..
--
Strangely, on his WEF page: https://www.weforum.org/people/volodymyr-zelenskyy
it says: "Has held no elected posts."
and "On 21 April 2019, won the regular election with 73.22% of the vote and on 20 May 2019, was sworn-in as the President of Ukraine."
What does that mean?
Maybe it was not such a great idea to elect a TV show to your government, Ukraine?
this is copied from an older comment
The Ukrainian government has a... fascinating origin story.
Ever hear people say "oh politicians are just actors reading lines"?
Well, the President of Ukraine is an actual actual actor and comedian. His last acting job was the lead in a series that ran from 2015 to 2019, when he was elected president. The role? An ordinary guy rants online about government corruption, goes viral, and is elected President of Ukraine.
That is not a mistake. The actual President of Ukraine was elected months after staring in a series as the unlikely President of Ukraine! https://imdb.com/name/nm3305952
Before his role as president, he and his comedy troupe, Kvartal 95, joked about the Maidan massacre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33lY5LUPNbE&t=599s
To win the election, Zelensky had to beat Yulia Tymoshenko. At the last minute, a third candidate entered the race, incidentally also called Y. Tymoshenko. So there where now 2 Y Tymoshenkos on the ballot, causing confusion. And a comedian won the race for president. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yulia_Tymoshenko#2019_presiden...
After being elected, Zelensky said
"Don't worry. We will not have nepotism. "
During the first year of Zelensky's presidency, more than 30 people who previously worked for, or with Kvartal 95 or its subsidiaries, received government positions.
Some highlights from the current roster..
Serhiy Trofimov - First Deputy Head of the Administration (Head of the Office) of the President of Ukraine , formerly - Executive Producer of the Quarter 95 Studio;
Yuriy Kostyuk - Deputy Head of the Administration (Head of the Office) of the President of Ukraine , screenwriter and author of the Studio "Quarter 95", creative producer of the series "Servant of the People"
Serhiy Shefir - First Aide to President Zelensky, formerly Screenwriter, Producer and Director of Kvartal 95 Studio;
It gets better....
Iryna Pobedonostseva - Director General of the Directorate for Information Policy of the Office of the President of Ukraine [30] , formerly (according to media reports) - Director of Development of the Studio "Quarter 95";
And my favourite...
Ivan Bakanov - Head of the Security Service of Ukraine , formerly a lawyer and head of the Studio "Quarter 95";
https://uk-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%82%...
So, the government of Ukraine is made up of actors, screenwriters, and producers, who's work resembled a post-modern Ukrainian Monty Python. It is like John Cleese started the Monty Python party, got elected, and is now pushing for nuclear war.
The Ukrainian government has a... fascinating origin story.
Ever hear people say "oh politicians are just actors reading lines"?
Well, the President of Ukraine is an actual actual comedian and actor. His last acting job was the lead in a series that ran from 2015 to 2019, when he was elected president. The role?
An ordinary guy rants online about government corruption, goes viral, and is elected President of Ukraine.
That is not a mistake. The actual President of Ukraine was elected months after staring in a series as the President of Ukraine! https://m.imdb.com/name/nm3305952
Before his role as president, he and his comedy troupe, Kvartal 95, joked about the Maidan massacre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33lY5LUPNbE&t=599s
And that's not even the end of the craziness. To win the election, Zelensky had to beat Yulia Tymoshenko. At the last minute, another candidate entered the race, incidentally also called Y. Tymoshenko. So there where 2 Y Tymoshenkos on the ballot, causing confusion and splitting her vote. Leading to a comedian winning the race for president. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yulia_Tymoshenko#2019_presidential_election
After being elected, Zelensky said
"Don't worry. We will not have nepotism. "
During the first year of Zelensky's presidency, more than 30 people who previously worked for, or with Kvartal 95 or its subsidiaries, received government positions.
Some highlights from the current roster..
Serhiy Trofimov - First Deputy Head of the Administration (Head of the Office) of the President of Ukraine , formerly - Executive Producer of the Quarter 95 Studio;
Yuriy Kostyuk - Deputy Head of the Administration (Head of the Office) of the President of Ukraine , screenwriter and author of the Studio "Quarter 95", creative producer of the series "Servant of the People"
Serhiy Shefir - First Aide to President Zelensky, formerly Screenwriter, Producer and Director of Kvartal 95 Studio;
It gets better....
Iryna Pobedonostseva - Director General of the Directorate for Information Policy of the Office of the President of Ukraine [30] , formerly (according to media reports) - Director of Development of the Studio "Quarter 95";
And my favourite...
Ivan Bakanov - Head of the Security Service of Ukraine , formerly a lawyer and head of the Studio "Quarter 95";
https://uk-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%82%D1%83%D0%B4%D1%96%D1%8F_%C2%AB%D0%9A%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BB_95%C2%BB?_x_tr_sl=uk&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB&_x_tr_pto=wapp
So, the government of Ukraine is made up of actors, screenwriters, and producers, who's work resembled a post-modern Ukrainian Monty Python. It is like John Cleese started the Monty Python party and got elected.