“Z Novym Rokom, Ukraine!”: Russia 1 Airs Parody of Zelensky and Ukrainians
And People's Artist of Ukraine Taisiya Povaliy sat in front of the stage and applauded.
On New Year's Eve, the Russian channel Russia 1 aired the show “New Year's Parade of Stars 2020,” where several comedians performed a comedy number on the theme of Ukraine and a parody of the current president, Volodymyr Zelensky. A recording of the performance has already appeared on YouTube and social media.
The show was hosted by Andrei Malakhov and Anna Kovalchuk. Before the number began, they talked briefly about “noisy neighbours,” which apparently refers to Ukrainians.
“Anya, how do you feel about cheerful and loud neighbours? — On New Year's, it's fine. It's a holiday. Let them sing, make noise, set off fireworks all night long. — And what if it happens not only on New Year's? — Well, then, like any person, I'd really want to drop by for a little get-together and see what's going on over there.”
After that, the hosts wished Ukraine a happy holiday in “Ukrainian.” Malakhov made a mistake and said: “Z Novym Rokom, Ukraina!”. Kovalchuk followed up: “Zustrichayte!”.
The number was based on the Ukrainian folk song “Ty zh mene pidmanula.” The first verse went as follows: “The president was a TV-series one, and now he has become a real one. The only thing that upsets is that we don't live like in the movies. Let the people's servant give an account at the end of the year. Hold your tongues, I hear the servant's footsteps.”.
After that, Umid Isabaev, a native of Uzbekistan who is called Volodymyr Zelensky's doppelgänger, took the stage. He had only one word, “Nema”, which he used to answer all the questions from the song. The performers asked the “President of Ukraine” about investigating corruption cases, raising salaries, whether Ukraine's authority had grown after the talk with Trump, where the money went, and so on. The final highlight of the performance was the wall between Russia and Ukraine.
The hall was attended by singer and People's Artist of Ukraine Taisiya Povaliy, who laughed loudly and applauded the comedians.
Umid Isabaev became popular after a photo appeared online allegedly showing Volodymyr Zelensky on the metro. Many assumed the picture was taken in the Kyiv metro, but in fact it was taken in Moscow. Zelensky's “doppelgänger” was born in Uzbekistan and worked in Moscow as a painter at a car service centre.
At first he did not even believe he looked so much like Zelensky, until he was shown photos and videos of the president of Ukraine. Although friends had been saying so since 2017, when Volodymyr Zelensky performed as a comedian.
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