Today, all of Ukraine is celebrating 31 years of independence.
On the main street of the capital, Khreshchatyk, there is a “parade” of destroyed, static military equipment belonging to the Russians, on which they came to destroy and capture peaceful Ukrainian cities. This sight more symbolizes than ever the indomitable and freedom-loving Ukrainian spirit and the desire to stand for one’s country to the very end. The destroyed equipment stretches from Independence Square, in the center of which the triumphal column dedicated to Ukrainian independence is monumentally exalted.
It is very symbolic because this place is, to some extent, sacred for every Ukrainian. After all, eight years ago, one of the most important events in the history of independent Ukraine took place in this very city. The Revolution of Dignity, or Euromaidan as it is known, showed the whole world how much Ukrainians are an independent nation that will defend its freedom of choice and self-expression to the end.
For more than 30 years, the main popular movements in Ukraine have been geographically concentrated around Kyiv’s Independence Square.
After all, Maidan is a Ukrainian way of defending personal and public freedoms in response to the despotism of the authorities. This phenomenon is one stage in the struggle for the independence of the state and for democracy. It is based on the idea of individual and collective freedom of choice as a basic societal value.
The first Maidan was the “Revolution on Granite” in 1990. This was an important factor in Ukraine gaining independence in 1991.
The “Orange Revolution” of 2004 became the second Maidan. On that occasion people defended their right to fair elections.
And the third Maidan became the Euromaidan or “Revolution of Dignity” at the end of 2013 – the beginning of 2014. Activists defended the European course of the state, and later their efforts moved to the military defense of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
This struggle of Ukrainian citizens for their rights has become widely known and was the largest event in the recent history of Ukraine.
Experts see people taking to the streets in November 2013 following the government’s refusal to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union as a civilizational choice. And the continuation of public protests and the unification of citizens to protect Ukraine from military aggression in the east of the country testify to the extreme importance of this choice. So, here we can offer you the chronology of events in the unfolding of one of the most important events, which testifies to the love of freedom, strength and indomitability of Ukrainians.
On November 21, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov’s government decided to suspend the process of preparations for the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU. It happened at the moment when President Viktor Yanukovych assured journalists in Vienna that Ukraine’s European integration is ongoing.
This outraged a significant part of society, which is why the hashtag “Euromaidan” began to spread on social networks. Around 10:00 p.m., activists, mostly students and journalists, began to gather on Independence Square in Kyiv.
On November 29, Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union at the Ukraine-EU summit. People began to gather in the center of Kyiv again. At the same time, members of the special security unit Berkut began to arrive at the rally site.
On the night of November 30 security forces brutally dispersed students on Independence Square. The country’s leadership justified this with the desire to clear a place for the installation of the Christmas tree.
All of this prompted a new wave of protests. And then protests on Independence Square did not stop from December 1. The demonstrators demanded the resignation of the Azarov government and early elections. On the same day, clashes with security forces took place near the Presidential Administration building. Protesters occupied the premises of the Kyiv city administration and set up headquarters there.
On Independence Square itself, people set up a tent city, and in the afternoon of December 11, news appeared about the preparation of its assault. However, activists fortified the barricades and the security forces could not capture them.
Moreover, on January 16, the Ukrainian Parliament, also known as Verkhovna Rada, adopted so-called “dictatorial” laws to minimize protests, but this had the opposite effect.
On January 19, a column of protesters moved to Hrushevsky Street. Where mass clashes took place, protesters burned the buses of security forces. This day was called “Bloody Baptism”.
Already on the night of January 22, two male protesters, Serhiy Nihoyan and Mykhaylo Zhiznevsky, died of gunshot wounds on Maidan.
The so-called “peaceful attack on the Rada” was planned for February 18. On this day, Parliament planned to consider changes to the Constitution – a return to the 2004 edition, which gave Parliament great powers. Therefore, a column of protesters moved from Independence Square towards the Verkhovna Rada. Clashes with security forces began again and there were reports of casualties.
On the same day, around eight o’clock in the evening, security forces announced the start of an anti-terrorist operation and began storming the barricades on Independence Square using armored vehicles. In response to this, people began to gather on Maidan.
On the night of February 19, a fire broke out during the storming of the House of Trade Unions. The fire in the building was finally extinguished in the morning of February 20, and a human body was found on the spot.
According to a parliamentary commission on investigating the murders on Maidan, the storming of the House of Trade Unions was carried out at the behest of the former head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Oleksandr Yakymenko, and his first deputy, Volodymyr Totsky, the head of the Alpha special operations center Oleh Prysiazhny, as well as the head of the Anti-Terrorist Center of the Security Service of Ukraine, Andriy Merkulov.
However, the bloodiest day in the history of Euromaidan was February 20, when security forces used firearms. A video appeared later on showing snipers shooting activists on Instytutska Street.
On the night of February 21, negotiations continued between Yanukovych, representatives of the European Union and Russia. After lunch, an agreement was signed on holding unscheduled presidential elections in December 2014.
However, on February 22, Yanukovych and some officials fled Ukraine. Journalists and activists broke into Yanukovych’s residence in Mezhyhirya, Kyiv Region.
According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, 2,500 people were injured during Euromaidan, 104 of whom died. The fallen participants of the Revolution of Dignity were then named the Heavenly Hundred. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, from February 18 to March 2, 2014, 17 security forces were also killed while performing official duties in the center of Kyiv.
All the Maidans, as well as the defense of the eastern regions of Ukraine and later on the fierce defense of the entire country, are a manifestation of the struggle of Ukrainians for national and personal freedom. Besides, it is a link of a broader process – the Ukrainian liberation movement. This movement has undergone various transformations over the last century and developed in the form of both armed and non-violent struggle.
