The Art Of Argument: How Debates Impact Elections In Ukraine, Russia, And Beyond

The televised showdown on April 19 between Ukraine’s Acting President Petro Poroshenko and former TV comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv’s Olympiyskiy stadium was Ukraine’s first presidential election debate in 15 years. But in a part of the world where presidential election debates remain relatively new, how do these public face-offs between candidates affect voter decisions? To find out, Evening co-anchor Timur Olevsky explored the history of debates in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Georgia.