Zelensky was born 25 January 1978 in Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian SSR in a secular Ukrainian Jewish family. His father, Oleksandr Zelensky, is a professor at the Kryvyi Rih Institute of Economics. His mother, Rymma Zelenska, worked as an engineer. Before going to school Volodymyr lived for four years in Mongolia where his father worked at that time.