Awell-known Ukrainian journalist Mykola Nesenyuk made an interesting post on his Facebook page.
Nikolay NesenyukIn December 1981, Kyiv residents and guests of the Ukrainian capital saw a unique painting. A high-rise building at the point where the then Lenin Street, now Bohdan Khmelnytsky Street, meets Khreshchatyk was completely covered by a huge portrait of Brezhnev, the then leader of the Soviet Union. The left side of his jacket was decorated with a row of five Hero's Stars at once. He had just received the last one on his birthday. The only problem people were discussing at the time was whether all five stars would fit on the jacket of the real Brezhnev, not the one in the painting. They didn't.
Some time later, Brezhnev came out with a garland of Hero stars-three on top and two on the bottom, in flagrant violation of the heraldic rule that the Hero stars should be placed in a single row on the left bust of the recipient. Who would have thought that one day these stars would be given out in droves on the birthday of a "leader"? Brezhnev himself was ill at the time, and they didn't have time to award him one, two, or even ten more Hero stars - he died in the autumn of 1982.
I remembered all of this when I learned that Messi, who no longer plays football, was named the world's best footballer for 2023. Why not? There are no clear criteria for such recognition, just as there are no clear criteria for awarding the Hero of the Soviet Union star. So Messi can be recognised as the world's best for years to come and awarded "for his contribution to the development of football". Unlike Brezhnev, he seems to be in good health. So we can sell tens of millions more T-shirts with his name on them and millions more tickets to matches with his participation. And it doesn't matter that these games have no tournament significance - Messi is still a hero. Just like Brezhnev.
Mykola Neseniuk
