This week marks the 6th anniversary of significant events in the history of Ukraine as well as Europe – the most violent protests of Euromaidan in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The result of violence on February 19-20, 2014, alone was more than 100 people killed and many more wounded in the fights of protesters with pro-government forces. It was a culmination of what is now known as the Revolution of Dignity grown from European aspirations of youth into a vast citizens’ fight for their rights and freedoms.
The start of Euromaidan was spawned by a sudden government’s decision to deflect from the European integration course: on November 21, 2013, the prime minister of Ukraine declared that signing the Association Agreement with the European Union was not going to happen. Overall pro-Russian spirit of the government under Yanukovych was obvious for the population. It is just that the formal change of the whole foreign policy was so last minute and the fact that its change considered an agreement Ukraine had been negotiating for years that it resulted in people taking it to the streets. Around 1500 citizens gathered at Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the central square of Kyiv, for a peaceful protest. On November 30, several hundred activists, mostly students, were still at the square when the police encircled and violently beat them. The reaction of the public was immediate: hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians came to the capital and from that point the protest was not only about the European future of Ukraine but also against the undemocratic regime and everything associated with it. The demonstrations turned into a long-lasting civil rights movement.
The first people were killed on the 61st day of protests and after a month of government’s forces attempts to clear the center of the city from the protesters the most murderous days of confrontation happened – February 19-20. Most of the people who died in the protests of Euromaidan (named the Heavenly Hundred) were gunshot on February 20. After realizing that Ukrainian people were not intending to leave the streets even in the face of death, Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych fled the country on the night of February 22 to settle in Russia under the wing of Vladimir Putin.
The Euromaidan managed to force the dictator-president to flee and his government to resign. After elections, Ukraine chose a European vector of development. It became an EU associate member, Ukrainians attained the right to visa-free entry into the European Union, many reforms were launched and as a result of the EU-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement, trade with European countries has significantly increased.
Looking back on those events we can observe that Ukrainians stood up not only for an abstract Europe but for liberty, justice, and equality. These fatal events have changed the role of the Ukrainian society in participation in governmental decisions. The Revolution of Dignity demonstrated that civil society was mature enough to organize and protect its rights. Before these events the word “democracy” was only formally declared in the Constitution, after them this political system was put in practice.
The aftermath of winter 2013-2014 was crucial for the EU’s understanding that the Ukrainian nation is willing to build a free society built on values that are common for both Europeans and Ukrainians. It is too early to estimate the significance of the Revolution. In some sense, it is not over yet. It is a long transformation process of both the country and human consciousness. Ukrainians continue fighting for their freedom both through reforming their state from within and defending the sovereignty they are being deprived of by their eastern neighbour. Especially in the times of Russian aggression in Crimea and eastern parts of Ukraine, the European choice of Ukrainian society gives hope that the conflict can be solved through dialogue and democracy.
Those who are interested in learning more about over 93 days of the Revolution of Dignity are welcomed to watch a documentary about it called Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom, available on Netflix. The film was co-produced by Ukraine, the United States, and the United Kingdom and was awarded the People’s Choice Award for best documentary at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.
European Solidarity Corps Volunteers – Project “Volunteers United in Diversity”
Institute of Research & Training on European Affairs
Sources:
https://maidanmuseum.org/uk/storinka/revolyuciya-gidnosti
http://euromaidanpress.com/2016/11/21/euromaidan-anniversary-ukraine-revolution/
