NO LAUGHING MATTER

Comedian Takes the Lead in Ukraine Presidential Race

Comic Vladymyr Zelensky shot to the lead in the polls after announcing his bid to be president.

Comic actor Volodymyr Zelensky is leading the polls ahead of Ukraine’s presidential election on March 31. He is one of 44 candidates, who include far-right combat veterans, a male chauvinist who says feminism has gone too far, a gas-dynasty princess, lawmakers, and spies. The incumbent, Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire chocolate baron, is also running, hoping to secure a second term. Zelensky is a well-known actor who plays a teacher who becomes president after a corruption scandal on a popular television show called Servant of the People. He is leading in some opinion polls by 10 percentage points. The campaign has been marked by dirty tricks and corruption accusations among the candidates. In 2014, the “revolution for dignity” led to the removal of pro-Moscow authoritarian President Viktor Yanukovych.

EYEBALL TO EYEBALL

Throwing the Ukraine War in Putin’s Face

Anna Nemtsova