Russians praise Ukraine's Zelensky as 'breath of fresh air' Russians in Moscow react after Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky topped the first round of Ukraine's presidential election with almost twice the vote share of his nearest rival, incumbent Petro Poroshenko, according to partial results. Zelensky's political experience had been limited to playing the president in a TV show when he announced his long-shot candidacy at the start of the year. The soaring popularity of Zelensky has intrigued Russians, many of whom have warmed to his calls for dialogue with Moscow and see his Russian-language jokes as a unifying factor. IMAGES of the streets of Moscow and SOUNDBITES of residentsREFILING TO CORRECT THE NAMES AND TRANSLATIONS OF SB3 AND SB4