From the street in the center of Kyiv, wearing a military green t-shirt and fleece sweater, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj sent out a video of himself on Saturday morning:
– I’m here. We are not going to lay down any weapons. We must defend our country, because our weapons are our truth, he said in what appears to be one mobile recordings he has made himself.
Since the war broke out in the country, he has repeatedly spoken to his people. Also on Saturday night, he appeared with, among others, the country’s prime minister, then outdoors at the presidential palace.
“The country’s fate is being decided right now,” he said, warning that Russia was expected to start storming the capital.
OUTDOORS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly filmed himself on the streets of Kyiv following Russian attacks. The photo is from a video he posted on Instagram Saturday morning. Photo: Reuters / NTB
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– Ruler
From an office in the neighboring country, the Russian president has also spoken.
Sitting in a gold-plated chair, wearing a suit and with the Russian flag as a background, Vladimir Putin said on Friday, among other things:
– I also want to highlight the efficiency of the Russian army. They have behaved honestly, heroically, and they are effective in protecting the Russian people and their homeland.
Lieutenant Colonel Palle Ydstebø believes Putin uses the grand as his backdrop when he appears in public.
– He uses the entire interior design as a use of force. This is carefully choreographed as magnificent and grandiose, says Ydstebø, who works at the War College at the Norwegian Defense College.
INDOOR: Putin has delivered several televised speeches from his office. The picture is from a speech he gave on Friday.
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– Putin appears as the almighty tsarist ruler in his palace, where people are only material who throw themselves at the tsar’s ambitions, the lieutenant colonel continues.
The differences between the two leaders are obvious.
– Zelenskyj chooses to go out and identify physically with the people in a completely different way, Ydstebø points out.
– Amateur
The different places the two leaders speak from also reflect the differences in the political culture in the two countries they represent, says Tor Bukkvoll, who is chief researcher at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment (FFI).
– Ukraine has always had a more anarchist culture. Russia is more power from above and below. I can not imagine Putin running around in the streets, says Bukkvoll to Dagbladet.
– It would also have been below his dignity, the FFI researcher believes.
– I think Putin probably experiences that Zelenskyj appears to be amateurish, that this is not how a statesman should behave, he elaborates.
CHIEF RESEARCHER: Tor Bukkvoll is chief researcher at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment (FFI).
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Experienced versus inexperienced
The biggest difference between the two, however, is not where they speak from, Bukkvoll believes.
– The two most important differences are that one leader is democratically elected, and the other is not, as well as the length they have served. Zelensky is extremely inexperienced, while Putin is extremely experienced. He’s too experienced.
– What do you put in it?
– When you sit for so long, there is a danger of losing some contact with reality.
Bukkvoll also believes that Putin appears bitter, where “Zelensky speaks as a man who is in the most difficult battle of his life in defending the country he rules.”
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– Not by chance
Putin’s motive is to create an image of Ukraine committing genocide. It is a picture that serves his ambitions, says Lieutenant Colonel Ydstebø.
– An extreme enemy image has been built up as a pro-formal legitimation of the war, he says.
He also believes that Zelensky knows well what he is doing, and that it is no coincidence that he films himself on the street.
– He behaves like a democratically elected president. By taking to the streets, he identifies in a completely different way with the population, their suffering and desperate situation.
– He is a bit reminiscent of previous leaders, who in major wars have visited the match. He has stepped out of the corridors of power. It creates a different image and a different credibility both with its own population and with the international community, Ydstebø continues.
SECTION HEAD: Lieutenant Colonel Palle Ydstebø is head of the section for land power at the war school. Photo: The Armed Forces
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Different backgrounds
Throughout his career, Putin has been associated with the KGB and the Russian secret services.
– This is an environment that is not known for openness or having any discussion, disagreements or making any compromises for others, says Ydstebø.
Zelensky, on the other hand, does not come from the power apparatus. He has a background as an actor and comedian.
Zelenskyj is a typical representative of a democratic society, who managed to build a party and enough trust among the voters to be elected. This means that he can also be elected away, the lieutenant colonel points out.
– There is clearly a direction and a set-up behind the way he appears as well. What he says and where he says it from, gives the impression that Ukraine has a representative from the people as elected leader, he adds.
– Should receive the Peace Prize
glaring contrast
Both Putin and Zelensky use their views as a tool, the lieutenant colonel believes.
“In the same way that Putin uses raw power, Zelensky uses himself in the role of the people’s representative as a conscious choice,” he said.
“Zelensky chooses to signal a democratic model, and the way Putin appears is a stark contrast to this,” he added.
– Putin has built up an image that he is the only one who can lead Russia in the fight against the country’s enemies.
– He has painted a picture of the country being threatened by the whole world, and this culminates in the two famous speeches he gave before the attack on Ukraine this week. In the meeting with his security council, he humiliated his own. It’s like he goes on steroids, Ydstebø concludes.
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