'Your Voice Should Be Loud': Volodymyr Zelensky Speaks At Stanford

PALO ALTO, CA — Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, looked out at a packed room full of Stanford students on Friday morning at the CEMEX Auditorium and broached a question that can be found on many college applications: “What matters most to you, and why?”

“This the most important question to me,” said Zelensky, who addressed the Stanford community in a speech followed by a question and answer session at an event hosted by the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. It was Zelensky’s first public address in the United States since he spoke to Congress in March.

For Zelensky — whose country has been attempting to fend off an invasion by Russia for three months and counting — the question was part of an appeal for the United States and the rest of the international world to keep paying attention to Ukraine, and to consider the Russian-instigated war as an existential threat to the ideals of democracy.

“To be helped, you have to be listened to and heard,” Zelensky said. “This is the most important thing for the people to know. The truth of this war.”

Zelensky actually visited and spoke at Stanford last September, months before his country was turned upside down by the unprovoked attack by Russia. In that speech, he was dressed in a suit. On Friday, he was behind a screen, wearing his now-trademark dark green t-shirt with a glass of water by his side and a pen to jot down the live translation to students’ questions.

For the president of a country mired in a devastating war, Zelensky was remarkably upbeat, addressing students by name, cracking jokes when he couldn’t understand the translation and showing the charisma he developed as an actor in his former career and that earned him international respect as he has maintained a grip on his country amid the chaos.

“Your voice should be loud, should be vocal,” Zelensky told students. “This is what we’re expecting of you. You’re not only a new generation, you’re the generation of ambassadors.”

The event was hosted by Michael McFaul, the director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the former United States ambassador to Russia.

In an interview with Patch following the event, McFaul — who knows Zelensky personally — said it was not a surprise that Zelensky chose Stanford out of all the universities in America. McFaul has spoken to him a few times since the war began and Zelensky has Stanford alums working in his office.

Zelensky appreciated the relationship with Stanford, and he’s always wanted to speak to students, according to McFaul.

“You could tell that he likes interacting with students and he feels very comfortable in an audience like this,” McFaul said. “I was very proud of our students. I thought they asked some great questions and I thought the way he answered them said a lot about his character.”

The final question to Zelensky asked him to reflect on what he would tell his 20-year-old self in college, and he responded by comparing the privileges of what American students have with the harsh reality of what college-aged Ukrainians are faced with.

“Someone is studying in universities and someone is standing in line for the drafting station and answering the calls for mobilization,” Zelensky said. “Unfortunately, not all of them will see a chance to write a thesis. Not all of them will stay alive. That’s a terrible story.”

The president urged Stanford students to take advantage of their collegiate years.

“I think [college] is the best years and days and hours, so I wish all of you that those will be wonderful years for you — so that it will not be as sorrowful as it is in our country,” Zelensky said. “That is why I would like to sincerely wish you peace. You just need to receive some sort of pleasure. Either you do that in the lecture or after the lectures, but you have to enjoy your life.”