About

Wide Zelenskyy, sometimes spelled Wide Zelensky, refers to a viral video and exploitable image of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walking towards the camera but stretched to appear shorter and wider in stature, set to the tune of Piano Fantasia’s “Song For Denise” (Maxi version). The meme is a variant of Wide Putin and was made to contrast Russian President Vladimir Putin in regards to the 2021-2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict. The first version of it was posted to YouTube in 2020 but picked up in usage in early 2022 during Russia's invasion.

Origin

On June 14th, 2020, YouTuber^[1] Nikita Makovsky posted a video titled, "Зеленського розперло і тепер він шагає | Wide Zelensky Walking," which used footage of President Zelenskyy walking through a parade in Ukraine and used the song "Song for Denise – Maxi Version" performed by Piano Fantasia.^[2] The video (shown below) received roughly 1,600 views over the course of two years. It is the first known video featuring a wide, stretched version of Zelenskyy.

Spread

On January 1st, 2021, YouTuber^[3] Tovarish Lew posted a new Wide Zelenskyy video titled, "WIDE ZELENSKY – ШИРОКИЙ ЗЕЛЕНСКИЙ," which over the course of two months received roughly 28,400 views (shown below).

On February 26th, 2022, following Russia's invasion of eastern Ukraine, more Wide Zelenskyy content started appearing en masse. For instance, on the 26th, YouTuber^[4] absol505 posted a Wide Zelenskyy video titled, "WIDE Zelensky walk but it makes the Russians RETREAT," earning roughly 52,000 views in five days (shown below, left). Also on the 26th, Redditor Red_Strat posted a Wide Zelenskyy GIF to /r/dankmemes,^[5] earning roughly 20,900 upvotes in five days (shown below, right).

Wide Zelenskyy content was reposted to TikTok starting on February 28th by TikToker^[6] jesse6990 whose video received roughly 1.4 million plays and 319,800 likes over the course of three days (shown below).

The TikTok was then reposted to Instagram by the Instagram^[7] account suck_a_blyat on March 2nd, earning roughly 4,700 views and 1,200 likes in less than 24 hours (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References