Was he seemingly fairly elected originally, and did he hold elections previously? (I don’t know how Ukrainian elections work or how long he was in office before 2022)
Zelensky was elected with a fairly overwhelming majority of nearly 75%. He was particularly supported in the east of Ukraine. He hasn’t held elections himself because Russia invaded the country.
Ukrainian electoral law prohibits elections during wartime. If it’s too unsafe, one can even argue that the security situation prevents free and fair elections, thus making an election under such circumstances unconstitutional. Zelensky wields significant authority in the country, but it’s not because he seized it, it’s because the country is politically fairly united due to the war. The Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies have taken aim at some high-level allies of Zelensky (though not the man himself, not that there are credible allegations or something), and thus far Zelensky has allowed the investigations and prosecutions.
The whole “Zelensky is a Nazi” thing is part of the Russian propaganda narrative. Ukraine’s history contains a fair few attempts at independence, and in more recent times against the Soviet Union. Back in the day, Ukrainian independence groups were ideologically aligned with the main enemy of the Soviets, which was Nazi Germany. This is the whole “Banderite” term being flung around: fascist groups who fought against the Soviets for Ukrainian independence.
Ukraine still regards these people as heroes for fighting against the Soviets. Their fascist ideology is mostly ignored, even by Zelensky (a Jewish man himself). Even today there are far-right groups in Ukraine. Zelensky has essentially recruited these people in the fight against Russia since they are fervent nationalists. Putin uses this as “evidence” that Ukraine is a fascist state, and that the Russian attack on Ukraine is as virtuous as the Soviet defense against the Nazis.
In reality, actual fascist ideology isn’t a widely held belief in Ukraine, and the parties that tried to run in the election espousing far-right views did not do well. The largest far-right party, Svoboda, received a mere 1.65% of the vote for their presidential candidate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Ukrainian_presidential_election
Zelensky was elected with a fairly overwhelming majority of nearly 75%. He was particularly supported in the east of Ukraine. He hasn’t held elections himself because Russia invaded the country.
Ukrainian electoral law prohibits elections during wartime. If it’s too unsafe, one can even argue that the security situation prevents free and fair elections, thus making an election under such circumstances unconstitutional. Zelensky wields significant authority in the country, but it’s not because he seized it, it’s because the country is politically fairly united due to the war. The Ukrainian anti-corruption agencies have taken aim at some high-level allies of Zelensky (though not the man himself, not that there are credible allegations or something), and thus far Zelensky has allowed the investigations and prosecutions.
The whole “Zelensky is a Nazi” thing is part of the Russian propaganda narrative. Ukraine’s history contains a fair few attempts at independence, and in more recent times against the Soviet Union. Back in the day, Ukrainian independence groups were ideologically aligned with the main enemy of the Soviets, which was Nazi Germany. This is the whole “Banderite” term being flung around: fascist groups who fought against the Soviets for Ukrainian independence.
Ukraine still regards these people as heroes for fighting against the Soviets. Their fascist ideology is mostly ignored, even by Zelensky (a Jewish man himself). Even today there are far-right groups in Ukraine. Zelensky has essentially recruited these people in the fight against Russia since they are fervent nationalists. Putin uses this as “evidence” that Ukraine is a fascist state, and that the Russian attack on Ukraine is as virtuous as the Soviet defense against the Nazis.
In reality, actual fascist ideology isn’t a widely held belief in Ukraine, and the parties that tried to run in the election espousing far-right views did not do well. The largest far-right party, Svoboda, received a mere 1.65% of the vote for their presidential candidate.