Honey and tar: what English-speaking readers will learn about Zelensky from the book “Showman” by Simon Shuster

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“An impressive portrait of one of the most outstanding figures of our era. This book offers a place in the front row of history at the moment of its creation”, – this is how Pulitzer Prize laureate and author of the book “Red Famine. Stalin’s War against Ukraine” Anne Applebaum wrote about the book of her American colleague Simon Schuster. Zelensky’s biography was written by him “Showman” in the English-language edition of Harper Collins, which is one of the “big five” of the largest English-language publishing houses in the world.

Times magazine contributor Schuster had unprecedented access to the President of Ukraine and his team during the first year of the full-scale invasion.

Although many in Ukraine are skeptical of the journalist who was born in Moscow, and after emigrating to the USA, he returned to the Russian capital to write for international news agencies. Because of this, many of Shuster’s materials about the full-scale invasion in the Times magazine were also perceived with some skepticism in Ukraine.

But “The Showman” has already been recognized abroad, in particular, in Britain it became the book of the month in the Independent publication and in the largest book chain Waterstone, and the Guardian wrote that this book must be read in 2024.

Special for UP. Culture review of Simon Shuster’s book “The Showman” was prepared by Nina Kuryata.

“The Showman” is, first of all, a detailed biography of Volodymyr Zelensky, which shows how the comedian turned into a wartime leader.

However, this is also a description of the historical scene of the times when Zelensky grew up in industrial Kryvyi Rih, conquered the “KVN” scene in Moscow, created Studio Kvartal 95 in Kyiv, went to the presidential elections and became the Supreme Commander.

Shuster’s book contains many details of the history of modern Ukraine, which help to understand the context in which the personality of young Volodymyr Zelensky was formed, and in many ways he was driven by his main desire: to stand on stage, be famous and receive a standing ovation.

Portrait in the interior

The part of the book that talks about Zelenskyi’s decision to run for office looks idealistic in some places: it is a portrait of such a simple and good guy who negatively perceived the annexation of Crimea (not least because the couple had a dacha there), went to the front to support soldiers, collected 1 million hryvnias in donations (at the same time, the author notes: this is the cost of one of Zelensky’s crossovers, which he used to move around Kyiv) and heard a call from one of the soldiers to run for president. That is why, Shuster writes, the showman Volodymyr Zelenskyi went into big politics, sincerely believing that war can be turned into peace.

Some of the details that Shuster describes give reason to doubt his knowledge. In particular, it is mentioned that the media atmosphere was not very favorable for the presidential race – they say, the then president Petro Poroshenko owned a “leading” TV channel, and it was difficult for the newly minted presidential candidate to resist this. In fact, the ratings of 2019 show that neither “Channel 5” nor “Pryamiy”, which directly or indirectly belonged to Poroshenko, had much less influence than the channels of the media group “1+1 Media” of Igor Kolomoisky, where the series “Servant people” and all shows produced by “Kvartal-95” (which is mentioned in the book).

Read also: Showman from Bankova. Simon Shuster about Zelenskyi, Zaluzhnyi, the bunker, sources and the book “The Showman”

Shuster writes that “neighborhood residents” criticized all politicians and those in power approximately equally, but this, of course, can be disputed – especially considering the period of the presidential race.

Simon Shuster probably had the greatest access to Volodymyr Zelensky among all Ukrainian and foreign journalists: from his first concert after his nomination to the presidency to his election as president and the onset of a full-scale war, he repeatedly accompanied him on trips (including to the front), traveled with him on trains, planes and had a joint dinner (at least one).

Since 2019, he has observed his character in very different situations, and the psychological portrait of Volodymyr Zelenskyi looks like this: he is a very stubborn person, extremely sensitive to any criticism and sometimes very naive. This applies not only to his move from show business to politics, but also to his hopes to somehow persuade or outwit Vladimir Putin.

Simon Shuster and Zelensky in the Odessa Cathedral, October 2023. Photo: Office of the President

Another trait of Volodymyr Zelenskyi that caught my eye is ignoring danger signals. The book describes at least three situations when Volodymyr Zelenskyy put not only himself, but also other people at risk of death: when a message was received about the bombing of the concert hall before his concert, when he was on the front lines in the range of fire of Russian snipers, and, of course, , when, having received many reports about Putin’s planned invasion, he told the last one that it was panic-mongering, promised “shashliks” and did not even prepare his children and wife for this.

The figure of Olena Zelenska deserves special attention. She learned that her husband would run for president on New Year’s Eve on TV, and heard from him “I forgot to tell you.” On the first morning of the full-scale attack, she woke up to the sounds of bombing in Koncha-Zaspa, and Volodymyr, going to the Office, told her to somehow explain to the children what was happening. In general, it follows from Elena’s stories that her husband first of all thought about his work, and everything related to children, both before and during the full-scale war, was given to her for ransom.

(Un)preparation for a full-scale invasion

A meticulous fact-checker may find in the text certain inaccuracies or discrepancies in interpretations: from the above-mentioned Poroshenko in the role of almost a media mogul to the characteristics of the Azov battalion, mentions of which are always accompanied by terms such as “ultra-right” or even “neo-Nazis”, but with a reference to the early period of existence battalion

Of course, this book will be very interesting to read not only for the politicians mentioned in it, but also, perhaps, for their lawyers – if they see any harm done to the honor or business reputation of their clients. However, the most important thing for me was not the rating of “Channel 5” or what exactly prompted Zelensky to run for president, but everything related to the invasion and preparations for it.

Simon Schuster repeatedly writes, referring to media publications listed at the end of the book and to his own interviews with the persons involved, that Volodymyr Zelenskyi received repeated warnings about a planned attack on Russia before the war – both from the Ukrainian military and intelligence, and from western partners. It’s hard to argue with this, because news of American and British intelligence reports were published in the press months before a full-scale invasion.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Valery Zaluzhnyi, is described as a rather simple, unassuming master of his craft, who hesitated whether to accept the offer to become Commander-in-Chief, not only because it violated military subordination, but also because he was planning to celebrate his birthday in those days his wife

Shuster describes in detail how Zaluzhnyi prepared for a full-scale attack and what his reservations were about the defense plans: he suggested to Zelensky to mobilize reservists and strengthen the borders, but he did not allow him to do this, appealing to the fact that it would sow panic and give Russia a reason to attack. The book also states directly that “the general was worried about the risk of information leaks and espionage among the political leadership” and that “it was impossible to know how deeply Russian spies had infiltrated the military and political leadership.”

Certain “political barriers” are also mentioned, which hindered the implementation of all protection ideas. As a result, Zaluzhnyi did not share his ideas not only with his American colleague, General Milli, but also with Zelensky himself.

Contrast shower

Paying tribute to Zelensky’s certain zeal, courage and charisma, Shuster appears ruthless when it comes to how he selects people for his team and makes decisions: there are many direct quotes from Zelensky himself and his entourage, from which the person appears unprofessional and sometimes naive. For example, when the political crisis surrounding Donald Trump was already raging in the USA, Zelensky asked Shuster: “What is he like? A normal guy?”. Shuster does not refuse to describe his surprise – because, in his opinion, the country’s leader should follow world news and be informed.

Simon Shuster probably had the greatest access to Zelensky. Photo: @ChristopherJM / Twitter

A greater example of naivety can only be considered the fact that even after the discovery of all the horrors that happened in the occupied Buchi and the withdrawal of the “Azov” battalion from the surrounded Azovstal, Zelensky still believed that it was possible to come to an agreement with Putin, as Shuster writes – again still, describing his own thoughts and emotions from what he heard. And they are far from delighted.

However, the main thing that speaks to the reader is the quotes and statements of Zelenskyi and his entourage, formal and informal situations in which he was observed by Simon Schuster, and all this gives the opportunity to see the main character of the book practically “without embellishments”.

Unanswered questions

Against the background of how difficult it was for Ukrainian journalists to gain access to President Zelenskyi even in peacetime, not to mention accreditation to war zones and newly liberated territories, Simon Schuster’s long and comprehensive access to the President and his Office seems unprecedentedly exclusive. And here the question arises about what he did not write about in this book.

Read also: Shuster in the book about Zelenskyi: He was like a walking corpse, they ate canned food and chocolate

Of course, spending time in the OP and communicating with the president’s entourage, it is impossible to ignore (and not get into the field of vision) the head of the OP Andriy Yermak. However, there are not many mentions of him in the book: it is told how he replaced Andrii Bohdan as the head of the OP and took control of the negotiations with Russia and the exchange of prisoners. Shuster also writes that Yermak was mentioned in the media “as a Russian spy.”

However, I did not find any mention in the book “Showman” about the trip of Zelenskyi, Yermak and their closest entourage to Oman. And in light of the fact that Ukrainian investigative journalists connected this trip with a possible meeting with representatives of the Russian security forces a year before the full-scale war, such a gap in such a detailed book looks quite strange.

The book was published two days before Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s birthday

Shuster recounts how Zelensky asked him in the spring of 2022 when the book about him would be completed. When he heard that the book would describe the first year of the war, he was upset and asked if the war would not end in a year?

The book was published on January 23, 2024 – two days before Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s birthday and almost two years after the full-scale war. Last spring, Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded Simon Shuster (however, like other foreign journalists – for example, Christian Amanpour) with the Order of Merit III degree. Did this order influence the tone of this book? I hope not.

At the end of the book, Simon Schuster writes that he had doubts whether this war would turn Zelensky into an autocrat. He hopes not. How does this book show Volodymyr Zelensky: as a showman who sincerely wanted to stop the war and come to an agreement with Putin, or as a non-professional who had no idea what was waiting for him in big politics? Each reader will make these conclusions personally. Perhaps this is the mastery of journalistic writing: to convey what is heard and seen without imposing one’s assessment.

The material was specially prepared for UP.Kultura Nina Kuryata, editor for Ukraine issues of the publication Tortoise media

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