The story of two revolutions: The struggle for dignity in photos

Yesterday, Ukraine celebrated the Day of Dignity and Freedom in honour of the two revolutions that began on November 21: The Orange Revolution (2004) and the Revolution of Dignity (2013).

These events were crucial in the history of independent Ukraine and demonstrated the willingness of Ukrainians to unite in the struggle for their free European future.

At the end of 2004, citizens were outraged by massive fraud during the presidential election, when Viktor Yanukovych was announced the winner. Supporters of Viktor Yushchenko, the opposition candidate, took to the streets to protest.

The protest movement lasted for a month, engulfing Ukraine’s major cities, with Independence Square in Kyiv as its centre. The crowded gatherings showed the world that Ukrainians were loath to their situation and the way of life that had existed for more than two decades.  These events prompted the second round of the presidential election, with Yushchenko winning.

Nine years after the victorious Orange Revolution, the government under Yanukovych’s presidency tried to reverse the pro-European vector of Ukraine’s development. This time, several hundred students and journalists were the first to speak out. A few days later, they were joined by thousands of supporters of European integration. People demanded early presidential and parliamentary elections and called on Western countries to impose personal sanctions against Yanukovych and his government.

On the night of November 29-30, the Berkut special unit brutally dispersed protesters gathered on Independence Square. Unarmed activists were beaten with police batons, with students suffering the most. This stunned not only Ukrainians but also the international community and became a turning point in the Ukrainian protests of late 2013. Their focus shifted from pro-European to anti-government. Furthermore, the protests became more widespread. 

On December 8, the so-called “Million Man March” took place in Kyiv. According to various estimates, between 500,000 and 1 million people gathered at the assembly on Independence Square. The Square was filled to capacity.

Euromaidan began to turn into a self-supported entity in the centre of the capital, with checkpoints, barricades, civilian self-defence units called “sotnias,” and a field kitchen.

Activists came to the central squares of various Ukrainian cities to voice their dissent openly and support the protesters in Kyiv. 

For example, the organizers of the event in Donetsk, where, despite provocations, a circle of like-minded patriots was formed, would collect food and donations for the protesters in the capital. Many local writers took part in the Donetsk Euromaidan, and artists from other parts of Ukraine came to the city to join in Christmas festivities.

After Viktor Yanukovych’s refusal to sign the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, followed by brutal beating of dozens of people, including many students, by the police in the centre of the capital, Crimea could not remain silent either, despite pressure from the authorities and powerful Russian propaganda. For example, in Simferopol, representatives of civil society organizations and students staged a rally against the dispersal of the peaceful event in Kyiv in support of Ukraine’s European integration. It took place next to a pro-government rally, some of whose participants, according to eyewitnesses, joined the ranks of pro-European activists.

Crimean activists would come with Ukrainian, Crimean Tatar and European flags to the buildings of the Crimean Council of Ministers and the Supreme Council in Simferopol.

Both the crowded marches in Kyiv and smaller rallies in various Ukrainian cities during the two revolutions showed the unity and desire of Ukrainians for change, for life in a free Europe, rather than under the puppet government run by the Russian Federation.

For this reason, people would go to the barricades, restrain with their bodies the onslaught of Berkut policemen, dodge their stun grenades, rubber bullets and water cannons. Activists used Molotov cocktails, firebombs or paving stones instead of firearms.

The most tragic days of the Revolution of Dignity were February 18-20, when clashes in the centre of Kyiv turned into a bloody massacre. The House of Trade Unions was set on fire, and snipers killed more than 70 Euromaidan protesters by precision fire. In total, more than 100 people died on Independence Square in four days, becoming the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred.

The struggle continues. Freedom has a high price, which Ukraine is paying in full today as it defends its independence in the war against Russia.