Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy is featured on cover of Time magazine

“It was as if Charlie Chaplin had morphed into Winston Churchill.”

U.S.-based Time magazine revealed its cover for the March 14 to 21 issue, which said "Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Heroes of Ukraine," referring to the citizens of Kyiv, the capital of the country, against the background of the Ukrainian national flag. “It was as if Charlie Chaplin had morphed into Winston Churchill,” the magazine said, referring to former-comedian President Zelenskyy for staying in Kyiv to encourage people’s fighting spirit despite Russia’s threats of assassination.

“Yet Zelenskyy decided to stay in his capital, an act of courage that has already altered the course of history,” said Time. “It roused the U.S. and its allies to impose unprecedented penalties against Russia, crashing the ruble and unplugging much of its economy from the rest of the world.” The magazine implied that the Ukrainian president’s bravery led to neutral countries, such as Switzerland and Sweden, to support Ukraine and the European Union to review accepting the country as its member.

The Grévin Museum, a historic waxwork museum in Paris founded in 1882, is considering removing the was the statue of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which has been displayed since 2000, and showcasing the waxwork of President Zelenskyy. As the museum’s visitors who complained against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine damaged the head of the wax statue of Putin on Saturday and Sunday, the statue was moved to storage by disassembling the head and the body.

To a question asking who will replace the empty spot of President Putin’s statute, Museum director Yves Delhommeau said it might be President Zelenskyy, adding that the president deserves to be placed among historical figures as he has become a hero by staying in the country in crisis. The museum features the wax statutes of over 450 well-known figures, including Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, Albert Einstein, Pope John Paul II, U.S. President Joe Biden, football player Zinedine Zidane, and actress Monica Bellucci.


Min Kim kimmin@donga.com · Eun-Taek Lee nabi@donga.com