Ten years have passed since the Maidan revolution in Ukraine, the protest that led to war

That was the spark that lit the fuse Euromaidan (Fromaidan). Citizen protest ended three months later with dozens of deaths and Yanukovych fleeing the country. The end of international balances existing between the West and Moscow Since the end of the Cold War. What was broken was not put back together.

Several incubation crises since the breakup USSR (of which Ukraine is a part) and geopolitical faults a magnificent draft, they overcame contributed to the outbreak of rebellion at that time.

On the one hand, his own Pulse with Moscow (He is strongly opposed to moving away from the neighboring country’s sphere of influence) and West (positive for Ukraine’s integration into international organizations); on the other hand, interior contrast between two Ukraines, one Russian-speaking (mostly in the south and the industrialized east) and more economically integrated into Russia, the other determined to break this bond; The unresolved problem of prevalence that underlies everything corruption and social injustice This is troubling this country with great resources and enormous potential.

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So much so that the Euromaidan protest was born from the ashes of the so-called protest. Orange RevolutionIn 2004, fueled mainly by opposition political parties, but later betrayed many promises policies, legitimate desires for change and public protests are also fed up with a real plague in the Slavic country: the oligarchs. Millionaires in most cases after independence Ukraine (1991) plundered Strategic industries and they massively occupied the economic and political power spheres of the new State.

This has fueled the gap between those who have more and those who have less. “Ukraine a potentially rich country returned poor Because of a tragic story. In the years since independence, Ukraine has grown along with the region, but despite high expectations it has been a bitter disappointment,” a 2012 report from the Carnegie Institute wrote:

In this provocative climate, in November 2013, a handful of young people settled on Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Kiev’s Independence Square), similar protests began to occur in different cities of the country. Initially with the public slogan a non-partisan protestProtesters for Europe and against the Ukrainian Government soon began to share the stage with representatives of Ukraine. political opposition Unlike Yanukovych. One of them: former boxer Vitaly Klitschko, then the leader of the Ukrainian Alliance for Democratic Reform (UDAR) and today the mayor of Kiev.

Therefore, if Europe initially magic word What unites the protesters then? various crises Ukraine they meltedIt turns into an explosive cocktail.

Yanukovych

The protest also sparked YanukovychReacting harshly to opposition. The first critical moment was the police attack on students on the night between 29 November and 30 November. From now on, the use of violence against protesters, in mass protests It is a situation that the President and his circle can no longer control.

Then peaceful mobilizations they became radicalizedAlso due to the emergence of far-right youth groups that began to clash more frequently with the Ukrainian police. In parallel, the square began to openly demand Yanukovych’s resignation from office. In response, the Ukrainian Administration supported various laws against freedom of concentration and expression.

european diplomacyThose who initially absentmindedly supported the protesters Then I tried to mediate. However, it was not successful. One of Yanukovych’s few attempts to calm things down was his decision to enact the February 1 law. amnesty law For those detained during protests. It had no effect. Demonstrations continued and resulted in increasingly violent clashes.

In those days, the leak of a conversation between the ambassador for European Affairs was a shady affair. United States of America, Victoria Nuland and Geoffrey Pyatt, ambassador in Kiev. At one point in the conversation, Nuland claims that the EU is being too cold towards Ukraine and says: “And you know, fuck the EU“.

tragic days

Then, between February 18th and February 20th, everything out of control. protesters They tried to enter the parliament and attacked several public buildingsThe event that led to the bloodiest parts of the protest: more than 100 dead in clashes between protesters and riot police (the hated Berkut). “This absurd loss of human life is deeply disturbing,” John Dalhuisen, director of Amnesty International’s Europe and Central Asia division, said in a statement on February 20.

Under these conditions, on February 22 Ukrainian parliament impeaches YanukovychCondemning what he described as a situation, he fled to Russia. coup. Thus, Ukraine entered two more major crises: First in Crimea, then in Eastern Ukraine. separatist tensions in these regions and is supported by Russia. The seed of the current world disorder.