Volodomyr Zelenskyy and Hero Syndrome

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives at the U.S. Capitol to meet with Congressional leadership on December 12, 2023. Zelensky met with President Joe Biden and Congressional leaders to make an in-person case for continuing military aid as the country runs out of money for their war against Russia. The meetings came days after the Senate failed to advance Biden's national security package that included aid to Ukraine. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

One story about the history of Israeli intelligence left a deep impression on me. In post WWII Germany, many of the Nazis’ scientists were out of work, and some of them were lured by the Egyptian government’s offer to help build missiles that could reach and destroy Israel. In response, Israeli intelligence made several aggressive attempts to stop the project, but to no avail.

Finally, an ex-Nazi official — who was forced to cooperate with Israeli intelligence — came up with an unconventional solution: The person who was in charge of the missile project had been his subordinate during the war. The Nazi cooperator planned to approach him as his former superior and promise to reward him with a medal, making him a war hero. From there, the plot could be stopped.

It sounded absurd. The war was over and the superior-subordinate relationship between them no longer existed. How could the promise of a medal work? But it did.

Perhaps the thought of being honored as a hero was too great to resist. By appealing to his vanity, the Nazi cooperator was able to remove all the protective walls around the project lead. This became the watershed moment leading to Israel’s ultimate victory over the missile program and saving itself from annihilation.

Money, power, and sex are considered the cardinal temptations that can bring down a person. Perhaps vanity should be included as well; it sometimes can be the deadliest bait. In this example, what intimidation, money, and sex had failed to accomplish, vanity did.

In the past few days, many have offered explanations about the confrontational behavior Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demonstrated in the Oval Office on Feb. 28. I think it’s possible that vanity may have played a role in his disagreeable demeanor in front of the world.

Holding Out for a Hero

When the Russian-Ukraine war broke out in 2022, Zelenskyy met the crisis courageously, leading his country in resisting Putin’s invasion, and was lauded as a war hero. However, the overall vibe surrounding him reminded me of a phenomenon I witnessed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

At that time, the Chinese Communist Party promoted different heroic figures. The CCP understood the power of a symbol in swaying public opinion and setting political direction, so they carefully chose and fostered a figure to serve their purposes. Usually, the person chosen was not qualified for the promotion, but his pride was always greatly inflated by the sudden fame. Blinded by his vanity, he disregarded common sense and morality, steadfastly following the directives of the government and becoming a pawn in the hands of the powerful.

I experienced a feeling of deja vu when I first learned about Greta Thunberg, the young Swedish climate protection activist. Her obsession with the environment was backed by the progressive Left, who thrust her onto the world stage to promote their woke agenda. Trapped by her vanity, she has not been able to break away from the role that made her a heroine.

However, fabricated heroes are not heroes at all. Burdened by vanity, they suffer hero syndrome, constantly projecting themselves as being entrusted with an important mission, exhibiting a solemn, tragic and bigger-than-life aura.

This hero syndrome might offer us a helpful way to understand Zelenskyy.

Believing His Own Hype

The global elites loathe Russian President Vladimir Putin, and have repeatedly broken treaties that promised not to expand NATO eastward to encroach on Russia’s security. Their aggression was the reason that Russia resorted to war to stop their hostility.

When the war started, western elites and U.S. Democrats needed a righteous symbol — a hero to rally the world behind their war by proxy against Russia. That’s why information about Zelenskyy on the internet was exclusively favorable and inspiring, shaping public opinion in only one direction. Over the past three years, Zelenskyy has enjoyed playing the role of the anti-Putin hero, reaping not only financial benefits for it but admiration from the progressive Left around the world.

The same people who hate Putin also abhor President Donald Trump.

After Trump’s reelection win in November, the anti-Trump “heroes” — from Nancy Pelosi to E. Jean Carroll — have one by one fallen silent. Who could help them release their penned-up hatred towards Trump?

One selfie reveals a lot about who Zelenskyy is. A dozen Democrat senators along with Republican Lindsey Graham met with him hours before the notorious White House debacle. The selfie shows that Zelensky was delighted to be among the people who had made him a hero. He was happy among them.

But only hours later, his manner and expression in the Oval Office formed a startling contrast. The symptoms of the hero syndrome were all over him. He was melancholy and solemn, like a hero embarking on an epic mission. It’s possible that the rendezvous with his American friends before the White House meeting had helped heighten his hero syndrome. Goaded by Democrats, he walked into the Oval Office, determined to be an anti-Trump hero for the world to behold.

The anti-Trump hero persona didn’t have a chance in the first 30 minutes of the meeting, because both Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance demonstrated a measure of forbearance. But when Vance mentioned diplomacy, Zelenskyy saw his opportunity.

Overcome with anti-Trump passion, he abandoned the objective of this meeting — signing the mineral rights agreement with the U.S. as one step toward ending the war with Russia. He didn’t care that his countrymen were dying. He probably didn’t want the war to end. Otherwise, how could he continue to be a war hero? His single focus in that moment was to let the world know what a daring anti-Trump hero he was, oblivious to the consequences that his behavior might bring.

Afterward, his vanity was rewarded with a warm reception from 18 European leaders. They embraced and congratulated him for doing what the Trump haters could not — and dared — not do.

Zelenskyy is doomed to be a tragic figure. Like all the previous victims of hero syndrome, he will vanish when those who made him one lose their power. That day is not far away.

Chenyuan Snider was raised in Communist China and majored in Chinese language and literature in college. After immigrating to the U.S. and studying at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary and Duke Divinity School, she became a professor at Christian colleges and seminary. She and her husband live in northern California and have two grown children.