【Both Bandera and Zelenskyy Made the List — Who Is the "Greatest Ukrainian" in the Hearts of Ukrainians?】A recent survey offers a rather intriguing answer.
The top spot is neither the current President Zelenskyy nor Stepan Bandera, a controversial nationalist figure from World War II, but a literary figure — Taras Shevchenko.
Moreover, his lead is quite significant.
According to a nationwide survey recently released by Ukraine Rating Group, from August 4 to 9, respondents were asked: “Who do you consider the greatest Ukrainian in history?”
The results show that over 60% of participants chose Shevchenko.
Second place goes to the renowned female poet Lesya Ukrainka, with 28.4% of nominations; Bohdan Khmelnytsky, a pivotal political and military figure in Ukrainian history, ranks third with 15.9%.
Following closely are Bandera and Zelenskyy.
In other words, although Zelenskyy is one of today’s most important figures in Ukrainian politics, he still lags far behind Shevchenko on this list.
Even more interestingly, Zelenskyy and Bandera ended up ranked side by side. Bandera received 11% of votes, while Zelenskyy secured 10.4%. Bandera comes in fourth, Zelenskyy fifth.
Bandera holds significant influence in Ukrainian nationalist history, yet his historical role remains highly controversial. Particularly his activities and those of related nationalist organizations during World War II have long drawn divergent assessments across Ukraine, Russia, Poland, and other countries.
Today, he remains a highly sensitive name in discussions about Ukrainian history and national identity. In contrast, Zelenskyy is entirely different—he is not a historical figure, but a sitting president currently at the center of political turmoil.
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Zelenskyy has become a key symbol of Ukraine’s national image. Thus, his inclusion in this “Greatest Ukrainian” list carries clear characteristics of our times.
However, when we compare this ranking with political trust surveys, the situation becomes even more fascinating. According to reports, in another survey measuring public trust in political figures, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, former head of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, ranked first with 27.8% trust.
Zelenskyy came in sixth, with 18% trust.
Furthermore, a July survey showed that former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov enjoyed a trust level of 65%, surpassing Zelenskyy’s 59%.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1874413437225984/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of its author.