In August 1914, Germany demanded passage for its troops through tiny Belgium. King Albert refused, “took personal command of the Belgian Army, and held the Germans off long enough for Britain and France to prepare for the Battle of the Marne” (quoted from Wikipedia here), the pivotal battle that halted the German advance and saved France.
That story is compellingly told in Barbara Tuchman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “The Guns of August.” Albert’s brave stand made him a giant in the history of the First World War.
Winston Churchill, who needs no introduction, is best remembered for his “we shall fight them on the beaches” speech after the disaster and miraculous escape at Dunkirk. An important figure of the First World War, and not always in a positive way (he was behind the Gallipoli fiasco), Hitler’s aggression turned him into one of history’s giants.
Until Putin invaded Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky was a minor figure on the world stage, known to most Americans only as the politician Trump tried to blackmail. Before becoming Ukraine’s president, Zelensky was a comedian and actor who portrayed Ukraine’s president in a popular TV series. He got elected by promising “to end Ukraine’s protracted conflict with Russia …, and attempted to engage in dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin” (quoted from Wikipedia here).
Had the Russian bear kept his paws off Ukraine, Zelensky’s story might have ended there. It took Putin’s perfidy, and Zelensky’s stoicism, just two days to catapult the former entertainer onto the plane of an Albert or Churchill. Like Albert, he’s a David facing a Goliath. Like Churchill, he’s making “we will fight them on the beaches” speeches.
Rough-shaven and dressed in olive drab, he walks Kiyv’s streets urging his people to fight (see story here). The U.S. offered to get him out, but he refuses to leave (he replied, “I need ammunition, not a ride”), even while describing himself as Russia’s #1 target, which he likely is, as Putin’s war aim is to replace his government with one subservient to Moscow. He may be killed, or captured and murdered; and if he is, he’ll be elevated from hero to martyr in the eyes of the Ukrainian people and the non-Russian world.
No one is laughing at Zelensky anymore. Like Albert before him, his courage and fortitude are earning the world’s admiration. In answer to the question, is Putin creating a giant of history? Yes, he is. His name is Volodymyr Zelensky.