The Euromaidan, also known as the Maidan Revolution, the Revolution of Dignity, or the Ukrainian Revolution, was a wave of pro-European and anti-Russian demonstrations which occurred in Ukraine from 21 November 2013 to 23 February 2014, primarily occurring in Kyiv's Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The protests were sparked by the corrupt and pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to pause the signing of an association agreement with the European Union, instead opting to align the country towards Russia and its Eurasian Economic Union. Pro-European protesters were rallied to Kyiv's Independence Square by Mustafa Nayyem, and the scope of the protests widened as protesters called for an end to widespread government corruption, abuse of power, and human rights violations and for the resignations of President Yanukovych and Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. On 30 November 2014, the Ukrainian Berkut police and Internal Troops of Ukraine violently dispersed the protesters at Independence Square, leading to many more protesters joining. Protests and clashes with police frequently occurred throughout Ukraine, especially at the Maidan in Kyiv, where protesters erected barricades, occupied the Kyiv City State Administration and other government buildings, and equipped themselves with helmets, masks, and shields. Support for the protest movement included not only (largely apolitical) supporters of European integration, but also from liberal reformist parties such as Batkivshchyna and UDAR (whose leader Vitali Klitschko played a major role in leading the revolution), left-wing radical movements such as the Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko and Femen, and ultranationalist and far-right groups such as Svoboda, Right Sector, and UNA-UNSO. The protest movement was largely pro-Western and anti-communist in nature, toppling a statue of Vladimir Lenin on 8 December 2013; meanwhile, supporters of the government and the Anti-Maidan movement were largely ethnic Russians who opposed the Ukrainian nationalism popular in Western Ukraine, supported autonomy for ethnic Russians and Russian-speakers in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, and sought closer ties with Russia rather than with the democratic West. On 16 January 2014, the Ukrainian government adopted anti-protest laws, the "dictatorship laws", which criminalized "extremist activity", amnestied law enforcement officers and Berkut security forces, allowed the trial in absentia of individuals, banned motorcades of more than five cars, implemented 15-day jail sentences for those who set up tents or stages, banned the wearing of masks or helmets, mandated the licensing of Internet providers, implemented internet censorship, and disallowed non-governmental organizations and churches from supporting civil protests. The impact of these laws was to radicalize the protesters and increase their anger, leading to the 2014 Hrushevskoho Street riots, after which the police began to use live rounds against protesters. In mid-February, riot police failed to fully occupy the Maidan, and, from 18 to 20 February, Kyiv was the site of fierce fighting which left over 100 protesters dead. On 21 February 2014, President Yanukovych agreed to a compromise with the political leaders of the Euromaidan, agreeing to halt the police's use of force against the protesters, and agreeing to hold new elections in December. However, many protesters refused to accept Yanukovych as President for another year, and Maidan Defense commander Volodymyr Parasyuk proposed that the protesters give Yanukovych ten hours to resign before they would storm his Mezhyhirya Residence. Yanukovych fled the country overnight, as did many other high-ranking government officials, most of them fleeing to Russia. Afterwards, the Verkhovna Rada removed Yanukovych from office and replaced the government with Oleksandr Turchynov, who ordered that former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko be released from prison.
The Euromaidan revolution resulted in the ouster of Yanukovych's government and its replacement with a national conservative government led by Turchynov, the downfall of the pro-Russian Party of Regions, the adoption of the association agreement's political provisions on 21 March 2014, and the Ukrainian government's rejection of Russian influence in Ukraine. Russia and international critics of the Euromaidan movement called the events a pro-Western "coup", while its supporters called it a "revolution". Concerns about rising Ukrainian nationalism, Russophobia, and anti-Semitism in Ukraine as a result of the revolution led to a political crisis in the country, with the Russian military occupying the Crimea and annexing it after a rigged referendum, and the Russian-majority populations of Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast seceding to form the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic. The Russian annexation of Crimea and the ensuing Donbass War would, in turn, lead to the 2021-2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis as the political legacy of the Euromaidan clashed with Russian military might.
Gallery[]
