A decade ago today, Ukraine had enough. Three months of bloody protests convinced Parliament to act.
The Revolution of Dignity (Ukrainian: Революція гідності, romanized: Revoliutsiia hidnosti), also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution,[2] took place in Ukraine in February 2014[a] at the end of the Euromaidan protests.[1] Scores of protesters were killed by government forces during clashes in the capital Kyiv. Parliament then voted to remove President Viktor Yanukovych, return to the 2004 Constitution of Ukraine, and call new elections. The revolution prompted Russia to occupy Crimea, starting the Russo-Ukrainian War.[1][2]
In November 2013, a wave of large-scale protests known as "Euromaidan" began in response to President Yanukovych's sudden decision not to sign a political association and free trade agreement with the European Union (EU), instead choosing closer ties to Russia. Euromaidan soon developed into the largest democratic mass movement in Europe since 1989.[29] The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) had overwhelmingly approved finalizing the EU association agreement;[30] Russia had pressured Ukraine to reject it.[31] The scope of the protests widened, with calls for the resignation of Yanukovych and the Azarov government.[32] Protesters opposed what they saw as widespread government corruption and abuse of power, the influence of Russia and oligarchs, police brutality, human rights violations,[33][34] and repressive anti-protest laws.[33]
A large, barricaded protest camp occupied Independence Square in central Kyiv throughout the 'Maidan Uprising'. In January and February 2014, clashes between protesters and Berkut special riot police resulted in the deaths of 108 protesters and 13 police officers,[20] and the wounding of many others. The first protesters were killed in fierce clashes with police on Hrushevsky Street on 19–22 January. Following this, protesters occupied government buildings throughout the country. Ukraine's government resigned on 28 January. Most of the slain protesters were killed on 18–20 February, during the most severe violence in Ukraine since it regained independence.[35] Thousands of protesters advanced towards parliament, led by activists with shields and helmets, and were fired on by police snipers.[20]
Just like right-wing media here, Russian media poisoned the minds of millions.
Following the ousting of Yanukovych, pro-Russian, separatist and counter-revolutionary protests began in parts of southern in eastern Ukraine. These regions mostly consumed Russian-based media, which promoted the narrative that Ukraine's new government was an illegitimate "fascist junta" and that ethnic Russians were in imminent danger.[279] According to Cathy Young, protests against the revolution attacked the new government as a "Jewish clique" seeking to use Ukrainians to defend the interests of wealthy Jews, and depicted the revolution as a "Zionist coup".[280]
The eastern Ukrainians got the government they wanted. I hope they like it.
Also on 23 February, clashes erupted in Kharkiv between thousands of pro- and anti-government rallies, and Mayor Kernes was blocked from entering the City Council building.[283] Pro-Russian protesters stood guard over the statue of Vladimir Lenin in the city center,[284] but the deputy head of the Regional State Administration announced that the city would dismantle the statue regardless on 25 February.[285]
On 1 March, thousands of people in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Simferopol, Odesa, Luhansk, Melitopol, Yevpatoria, Kerch, and Mariupol protested against the new government.[286][287][288]
Public surveys in April revealed that most people in Ukraine's eastern regions considered all levels of the government illegitimate. Half of respondents believed that Acting President Turchynov was "illegally occupying his post". Roughly half held the same opinion about Prime Minister Yatsenyuk.[289] However, nearly 70% agreed that Yanukovych was also not the legal president of the country.[290]
Leaked e-mails and telephone calls later revealed that the Russian state had funded the separatists and had organized separatist protests, mainly through Kremlin advisers Vladislav Surkov and Sergey Glazyev.[291][292][293]
The resulting war is still going on today, of course, and the Ukrainians are still not giving up.
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