On July 5, 2023, The Baltic Times announced that Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) has awarded an Honorary Doctorate to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The title has been granted to him for extraordinary leadership in the fight for Ukrainian freedom, democracy, and humanist values presenting the younger generation with the best example of dignity, determination, and moral strength.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of the Republic of Ukraine, is a politician, former comedian, actor, TV show host, and director, who became the head of state in 2019. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Zelenskyy declared mobilization and martial law, but remained in Kyiv himself, earning international recognition for his actions and leadership and becoming a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance. That same year, Politico named him the most powerful person in Europe, while Time magazine designated him Person of the Year. Zelenskyy was also awarded the Freedom Prize by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
VMU maintains exceptional relations with Ukraine’s academic community: the university has over 30 cooperation agreements with the country’s institutions, several of which are with universities in exile from war-ridden territories.
In 2022, the university accepted over 300 Ukrainian students, hosting some of them with their families. Mariupol State University has been invited as an associated partner to the European University Alliance “Transform4Europe”. Initiated by the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska and the First Lady of Lithuania Diana Nausėdienė, the Ukraine Centre was opened at VMU in June, 2022, and became an important hub of humanitarian support and an educational oasis for the Ukrainian community. Since its establishment, it has been visited by over 24,000 Ukrainians.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was born in Kryvyj Rih, Ukraine, to Jewish parents. He graduated with a law degree from Kyiv National Economic University. He was also involved in creative work: the activities of the Club of the Funny and Inventive People (KVN); later, he founded the Studio Kvartal 95, a production company that created successful TV projects, series and feature films.
Zelenskyy has acted in various films, including Love in the Big City and its sequels, 8 First Dates, Me. You. He. She and others. In the popular TV series Servant of the People, Zelenskyy starred as an ordinary history teacher who suddenly becomes famous and is elected the President of Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy won the Ukrainian presidential election with 73 percent of the vote, defeating Petro Poroshenko decisively in the second round. As president, he committed to fighting corruption, actively supported the unity between the Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking parts of the country’s population, and led Ukraine’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic recession that followed it.
In late 2021, Russia started amassing military forces near the border with Ukraine; on February 24, 2022, it launched a full-scale military invasion. “This battle … will define in what world our children and grandchildren will live, and then their children and grandchildren. It will define whether it will be a democracy of Ukrainians and for Americans — for all”, Zelenskyy said while addressing the U.S. Congress.
Ukraine acquired a weapon Putin has no means to answer: Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s communication skills, media understanding and long-term experience in the field of entertainment. Both in video recordings and in live meetings, Zelenskyy asked for support to Ukraine from all countries of the world. The Ukrainian President’s efforts were successful: the Western countries sent many anti-tank weapons, surface-to-air missile systems, HIMARS etc. Moreover, the sanctions against the aggressor were some of the strictest in history. On June 23, 2022, Ukraine was granted the status of candidate for accession to the European Union.
Ukrainian media announced on July 10 that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s attendance at the NATO summit in Vilnius.
