In 2015, a TV series was launched in Ukraine, titled 'Servant of the People', which starred Volodymyr Zelenskyy, now the President of Ukraine, in the lead. The series would become not only a highly rated TV product across the world but also change the history of Ukraine. As the war in Ukraine enters its second year, here’s a look at the show that gave Ukraine its wartime President. What was the plot of the show? 'Servant of the People' starts with the central protagonist, Vasily Petrovich Goloborodko, a simple, muddle-headed schoolteacher in Kyiv, relieving himself when there is a knock on the door. Some government officials have come for him. Upon leaving the toilet, Goloborodko finds out that he has just won the election. “Good morning, Mr President,” the official greets him. It isn't only Goloborodko but everybody else in the world, including Barack Obama and Theresa May, who are surprised by his victory. How it had happened is that a video made by a student in Goloborodko’s history class showing the teacher ranting against politicians and claiming that he could do a better job at running the country had gone viral—and won supporters among the public. The students had crowdfunded the amount needed for Goloborodko to enrol as a candidate. As Goloborodko negotiates public life that is potholed with corruption, intrigue and the threat of Russia, to serve the people of Ukraine, the show turns gripping. One of the reasons for the instant success of 'Servant of the People' was the political instability in Ukraine at the time. The government of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych had fallen in 2014 after the country erupted in popular protests, in which several demonstrators were killed by police and security forces. In May 2014, the billionaire businessman Petro Poroshenko was elected President after winning a snap election and was considered effective until the Panama Papers were released in 2016, showing that the President had offshore accounts in the British Virgin Islands. 'Servant of the People', made by Kvartal 95, an entertainment company founded by Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his friends, touched the hearts across Ukraine and the world and ran for three seasons. The final run was in 2019, the year Zelenky became President. How was Zelenskyy's party formed? In 2018, riding the wave of popularity and convinced that he could make a difference, Zelenskyy and his colleagues at Kvartal 95 registered 'Servant of the People' as a political party. When the Presidential elections were announced in 2019, a number of candidates threw their hats into the ring. Among them was Zelenskyy. His election campaign was informal and sharp, a fresh change from the way things were done. He used YouTube and Instagram to reach out to people about his vision. Ever the entertainer, he put up comic sketches that went viral. Hoardings announcing the third season of the TV show doubled as an election campaign for the party. When the votes were counted on April 21, Zelenskyy emerged as the new President. Analysts still talk about how life imitates art to make 'Servant of the People' an origin story of Zelenskyy. Who are the other notable politicians of the party? 'Servant of the People' didn’t just give Ukraine a President but also several other office bearers, such as Mykyta Poturaiev, a member of the Parliament from the Servant of the People party since 2019, who is Сhairman of the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy. Dmytro Oleksandrovych Razumkov was Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine till 2021. Oleksandr Korniyenko is First deputy speaker of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. In the last year, Zelenkyy’s politics has congealed into resisting an invader. In 'Servant of the People', there is a sequence in which Plutarch and Herodotus meet. “The whole nation has been entrusted to him,” they say.
