As Ukraine’s opposition movement vows to continue its “revolution” with more protests and a general strike, an ultra- nationalist party is playing a leading role and former symbols of the far-right fringe are moving into the political mainstream.
Flying above crowds in Kiev and other cities, the flags of Ukraine and the European Union mingle with red-and-black “blood and soil” nationalist banners. Across the country, the rallying cry of this revolt booms out countless times every day: “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!”
The flag and the mantra of the protests were first used by guerrillas in the 1940s, who fought against Nazi and Soviet occupiers in a bid to carve out an independent Ukraine. They are still lionised by many people in western regions, while people in southern and eastern Ukraine, with closer ties to Russia, deride them as Nazi collaborators.
