Last November, Ukrainian opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk called on his Twitterand Facebook followers to meet in Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Kiev’s central square, to demonstrate against government actions thwarting a long-awaited bilateral trade agreement with the European Union. At the time, President Viktor Yanukovych had surprised Ukrainian citizens and world powers alike by shunning the agreement in favor of a friendly relationship with Russia. Using the hashtag #EuroMaidan, Twitter users appropriated the square—or Maidan—as the central symbol of Ukraine’s pro-EU demonstrations. This month, Yanukovych further enraged activists by enacting legislation that increases fines and jail time for any unauthorized public protests. Despite the new law, troubling violence, subzero temperatures, and frequent intimidation, hundreds of thousands of protesters continue to participate on a regular basis.
EuroMaidan Revolution
Slate: How did Ukraine’s government text threats to Kyiv’s EuroMaidan protesters?
Pictured are screenshots of text messages recipients say they received from mobile phone operators MTS Ukraine (left) and Kyivstar allegedly telling subscribers that they are taking part in a riot. The mobile operators categorically denied sending the messages.
