Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy

"I need ammunition. Not a ride."

WINNER

President Zelenskyy

In the words of many of you, this was a no-brainer. And I think it’s fair to say that President Zelenskyy, by the example he is setting with his strong leadership, and the Ukrainian people because of their refusal to back down and capitulate to a murderous tyrant in order to save their fragile democracy, may have changed the course of history.

Badass

All of your comments about Zelenskyy were of a piece—the words “brave,” and “badass” came up a lot. Basically, he’s a “damn good leader,” something that has been in short supply across the world.

Some of your reasons for voting for him:

“He makes an olive drab v-neck gov issued T-shirt look like Armani.” OK, maybe not the most important thing about him but he really does rock a flak jacket, too (see above).

For “showing his people what courage looks like and for demonstrating how important it is to stand up for your convictions.”

“For putting his life on the line for his country even though he has the option to flee.”

“His bravery, his steadfastness, his wise speech to the Russians today, his not abandoning the ship.”

“For his love of Ukraine, love of democracy, and his sheer badass self.”

“For offering what may be his very life to fight all he has for the people who trust him with their own lives as they fight in offering.”

The People of Ukraine

Each Ukrainian is fighting in their own way for the sovereignty of their nation, but you mentioned the following people and I think, taken together, they exemplify the spirit and tenacity of the Ukrainian people as a whole:

• When Russian tanks approached the Henichesk Bridge, the Ukrainian battalion deployed there believed the only way to stop the Russians was to blow the bridge up. Marine battalion engineer Vitaly Skakun Volodymyrovych volunteered to rig the bridge with mines. While in the process of doing so, he realized there was no time for him to get to safety before the Russians started to cross. He blew up the bridge—and himself—in order to prevent, or at least significantly slow down, the Russian advance.

  

  Vitaly Skakun Volodymyrovych Sunflower Seeds

• As a Russian warship approached Snake Island, a remote but strategically important outpost, the 13 Ukrainian border guards were told to surrender. One of the guards said, "Russian warship, go fuck yourself." It was first thought that all 13 men were killed in the ensuing bombardment, but they were taken by the Russians and are being held in Crimea.

• A woman confronted a heavily armed Russian soldier and shouted, “What the fuck are you doing in our land?” As she walked away, she said to him, “You should put sunflower seeds in your pockets so that they will grow on Ukrainian land after you die.”

RUNNERS-UP

The Russian protestors

нет войне: No to War

Since the beginning of Putin’s illegal war, thousands of Russians across 60 cities have come out to protest against it. The police response has been, in some cases, brutal. As of Sunday over five thousand people have been detained. It’s hard to overstate the risks they are taking on by going up against a brutal dictator in a place where such actions are prohibited, but many of you recognized what it means.

You pointed out that the Russian protestors are “taking their lives in their hands by taking to the streets.”

They “live under the strict rule of a dictator. They know the consequences could be severe.”

So far it looks like they have been and will continue to be.

President Joe Biden

Democracy is on the ropes world-wide and autocracy has been on the rise . After four years of the Trump administration the Western alliance, including NATO, was the weakest it has ever been.

Joe Biden is determined to reverse course. So “for rallying NATO, being a true leader by listening to and working with his Allies” and “for uniting the west behind Ukraine,” Biden received some of your votes. He has not just united our allies and strengthened NATO but he has demonstrated the importance of diplomacy, the necessity of putting sanctions with teeth into place swiftly, and the wisdom in stepping back, as Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo put it, in order “to have Europeans tak[e] the most visible role announcing new sets of sanctions.”

HONORABLE MENTION

José Andrés

This incredible man and his organization have already served over 8,000 meals to Ukrainian refugees.

Andrés received votes “for selflessly bringing food and comfort to the refugees on the Ukraine-Poland border. World Central Kitchen—the organization which Andres leads—fills the bellies of children and adults, and in doing so provides hope for the world.” He does indeed.

You can check out World Central Kitchen here.

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Thank you for all of your suggested additions to the Glossaries. As I mentioned, I will constantly be updating them so keep your suggestions coming. Some of you gave me quite detailed reasons for adding certain political figures—and I may do that at some point in the future—but for the time being I’m only including people from the media (generally speaking).

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