Volodymyr Zelenskyy filming himself in Ukraine : NPR
Far postcards are a weekly series in which the international NPR team shares moments in their lives and works in the world.
The maidan, the place of kyiv’s independence, has been at the heart of political change in Ukraine for more than two decades. During the visit to the NPR team covering Ukraine – the correspondent Joanna Kakissis and the producers Hanna Palamarenko and Polina Lytvynova – I went back to the square, where the events of new history attracted me for more than two decades.
The memories fell from two people’s power revolutions against the influence of the Kremlin.
In 2004, no one knew if the police drew on demonstrators. Instead, a cop went on stage, kneelled and kissed the flag. Hundreds of thousands broke out in cheers and tears. A decade later, the snipers of the riot police opened fire on demonstrators carrying wooden shields and flags of the European Union: unarmed men, incredibly, flowing towards the balls, leaving 40 dead, but turning the political tide. The president fled to Russia. These weeks have seen students, retirees, veterans, doctors and teachers stand at freezing temperatures around the giant stages, teacher to politicians that it was not a crowd to lead, but to follow.
These revolutions helped to open the way to the improbable rise of the actor Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He first broke the character to call for peace, then became president, then turned into a leader in wartime nicknamed “Churchill with an iPhone”, recording provocative videos a few steps from the place.
By driving room, I spotted Zelenskyy spinning on a maidan memorial for soldiers and volunteers – including the Americans – killed since the large -scale invasion of Russia in 2022. I thought of stopping to ask for an interview, but the moment belonged to him – and those he honored.
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