War in Ukraine | A boxer in the political ring

Installed in front of the flags of Ukraine and its capital, the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, expresses his admiration for his people.

Janie Gosselin
The Press

“I’m proud to see patriotic people who don’t care how strong the Russian army is. We are ready to fight and die for our home, our country and our families, because this is our home,” he said on CNN this week.

This politician with an atypical career has already indicated his intention to take up arms to defend his homeland.

Vitali Klitschko is used to fighting. A heavyweight boxing champion, he entered the political ring during the 2014 revolution. He was re-elected mayor in 2019.

The pugilist hung up his gloves, but did not lose his ardor.

“When he started out in politics, people were skeptical because the skills of a world-class boxer didn’t necessarily translate well to running a city,” said Eugene Bondarenko, lecturer in Ukrainian and Russian languages ​​and cultures at the University of Michigan.

media figure

The 2m man with the square jaw, dark eyes and close-cropped hair has become one of the media figures of the war in Ukraine. “He turned out to be exactly the person people needed,” says Bondarenko. As a heavyweight boxing champion, he exudes an image of strength, which is very important at the moment. »

The 50-year-old mayor uses social media to communicate with his people, but also with the outside world. He also publishes the videos of his brother Wladimir, a gold medalist in boxing at the 1996 Olympics, who appeals for international support after enlisting in the Ukrainian armed forces.

“It’s one of the advantages of having political figures who are connected to other audiences: their platform is greater,” said Emily Channell-Justice, director of the Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program at Harvard University. “The world knows [Vitali] Klitschko because of boxing, but he takes advantage of that to let people know what’s going on in Ukraine. »

A risk

Vitali Klitschko, like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, chose early in the invasion to stay in Kyiv, publicly defying Russian forces. A risky option.

“We know that Zelensky is the number one target [des Russes]recalls M.^me Channell-Justice. I am 100% certain that Klitschko is number two. He was a defender of Ukrainian sovereignty. I think they’ll shoot him down, because they can never make a Russian puppet out of him. »

The courage of the two men was hailed. But according to Maria Popova, associate professor of political science at McGill University, if these extraordinary politicians inspire the people, they themselves are first driven by the mobilization of Ukrainians.

The former boxer established himself as a leader during the popular uprising of 2013-2014. The spark that ignited Ukrainian anger was an about-face by their country’s president in a deal to bring Ukraine closer to Europe. Vitali Klitschko positioned himself as a pro-European figure from the start.

“In 2014, he had this party whose acronym was ‘strike’ – a boxer who plays politics with the word ‘strike’, that was his trademark,” says Lucan Ahmad Way, professor of political science at the University of Toronto. I remember he was very active in the streets, trying to mobilize people. »

The protesters were fed up with political corruption.

Before the war, Klitschko “was not a remarkable mayor of Kyiv”, says Maria Popova. Neither popular nor reviled. But the Russian invasion and the threats against the capital propelled it to the fore.

“A week ago, Ukrainians lived in a world largely like ours,” recalls Eugene Bondarenko, himself from Kyiv. Their children were going to school, COVID-19 was probably the main concern. Today, Ukrainians are being bombarded with cluster bombs. »

On Wednesday, as Russian forces continued to shell Ukraine and residents of the capital prepared for an assault, Mayor Klitschko issued a new appeal to residents. “Kyiv is holding and will hold,” he said.

With Agence France-Presse and CNN