TIME magazine named Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky and “the spirit of Ukraine” as its “Person of the Year” on Wednesday, for the struggle and resistance that the country presented in a persistent manner against Russia’s aggression.  

“Whether the battle for Ukraine fills one with hope or with fear, Volodymyr Zelensky galvanized the world in a way we haven’t seen in decades,” wrote Edward Felsenthal, editor-in-chief of TIME. 

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Once a popular TV comedian, now the president of war-struck Ukraine, wouldn’t have imagined that its neighbour, and also among the world’s third-strongest countries would come knocking down all the barricades to the gates of the capital city, Kyiv. 

The Ukrainian army retaliated back strongly and faced the Russian forces outside the capital, but what surprised the most is that president Zelensky undertook to stay in the city under attack and said that he had been marked as “the number one target” by the opponent. 

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Volodymyr Zelensky
grew up in Kryvyi Rih, a Russian-speaking region of southeast Ukraine. He got a
degree in law from Kyiv National Economic University. He then moved towards
comedy and created a production group called Kvartal 95. It produced films,
cartoons, and TV shows including Servant of the People, in which Zelensky
played the role of president of Ukraine.

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Prior to making his way
through to politics, Zelensky was a popular name in comedy. The 44-year-old
Zelensky got famous nationwide for his comic portrayal in a TV series of a high
school teacher who becomes president after a video rant against corruption goes
viral.

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The Person of the Year
title isn’t mandatory to be conferred to a person, but it can be a group, idea,
a thing. Each year, TIME gives the title to whom they think has had the biggest
impact on the world that year.

The honoree in 2021
was billionaire Elon Musk.