Ukraine
3
1 Year Maidan Revolution
http://uatoday.tv/society/maidan-393061.htmlUkraine's pro-democracy Euromaidan Revolution - one year on
Protests began in late November 2013 after then-President Yanukovych scrapped a key EU deal
Ukraine has this week marked the first anniversary of protests which sparked a revolution and plunged the country into war. The anniversary has sparked considerable soul-searching in Ukraine as the population assesses the historic changes which have taken place in the country over the past 12 months.
One year ago, Ukraine's pro-democracy revolution began here in Kyiv – initially in response to news that the country was abandoning plans to sign a deal bringing it closer to EU. The protests escalated throughout the winter months before culminating in the fall of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's government – but not before over 100 protesters had been killed.
The fall of the pro-Russian Yanukovych regime marked the triumph of the Euromaidan protests – but within days the Kremlin had responded to the loss of its ally by invading Crimea. Kremlin agents have since played a key role in stirring insurgency in east Ukraine, with Russia accused of sending weapons and fighters across the border to prop up breakaway republics and destabilize Ukraine. The conflict has done much to dampen the optimism generated by the success of the Euromaidan protest movement, but political analysts argue that the pro-democracy protests nevertheless managed to change the geopolitical path of Ukraine.
Yevhen Magda, Political Analyst: "Euromaidan has proved that Ukraine does not want to be a grey zone, it wants to be a state. And for Putin it was a huge challenge. I have reasonable grounds to say that the occupation of Crimea and riots in Ukraine's Donbas region were planned by Russia before Euromaidan happened. Maybe it was aimed at the presidential elections in 2015. Everything is very difficult there, but they managed to do it very easily. That is why I think it is a challenge. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin perceives the situation in Ukraine as a challenge. That is why he took the unprecedented steps of depriving Ukraine of real sovereignty."
For many ordinary Ukrainians the past year has been a time of heightened patriotic sentiments, with many reporting a much stronger sense of national identity as a result of the Euromaidan protests and the subsequent Russian invasion. The pro-democracy, pro-European position championed by protesters in Kyiv last winter has helped many Ukrainians to define what differentiates the country from Russia.
Vira Solovyova, Kyiv resident: "(Euromaidan is) the awakening of consciousness of Ukrainians, the unity of the nation, and I hope the birth of the nation. But we cannot relax. There is a lot of work ahead of us."
Vitaly Chafonov, Kyiv resident: "I think it's a very remarkable event in the history of Ukraine. I would say that a new era has started. The level of consciousness has increased. People started realizing who they are, which state they are from, which nation they are from."
The Euromaidan Revolution is already part of Ukrainian history, but many believe that it is unfinished history.
Demands for justice have yet to be met, with no senior figures called to account for the deaths of protesters. President Poroshenko responded to hecklers on the Euromaidan anniversary by announcing that those who died during the protests would be recognized with state honours as ‘Heroes of Ukraine.'
However, for millions of Ukrainians real change would mean not only honouring the dead but punishing the guilty.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Ars Moriendi
Christianity
Bookmarks