Revolution of Dignity

This article is about the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. For other uses, see Revolution of Dignity (disambiguation).

Revolution of Dignity
Part of Euromaidan
Top: Protesters fighting government forces on Independence Square on 18 February 2014.
Bottom: Independence Square on 23 February.
Date18–23 February 2014[1][2]
(5 days)
Location
Ukraine (mainly in Kyiv)
Goals
MethodsProtesting, rioting, civil disobedience, insurrection
Resulted inEuromaidan / opposition victory
Full results
Parties

Maidan People's Union

  • Anti-government civilian protesters
  • Parliamentary opposition parties
  • Defected police officers[6]
Lead figures
Number
Kyiv:
Elsewhere in Ukraine:

Law enforcement in Kyiv:

  • 4,000 Berkut
  • 1,000 Internal Troops
  • 3,000–4,000 titushky[15]

Pro-government/anti-EU demonstrations:

  • 20,000–60,000 (Kyiv)
  • 40,000 (Kharkiv)[16]
  • 15,000 (Donetsk)[17]
  • 10,000 (Simferopol)[18]
  • 2,500 pro-Russia (Sevastopol)[19]
Casualties and losses
  • Overall deaths: 121[20]
  • Overall injuries: 1,811[25]

The Revolution of Dignity (Ukrainian: Революція гідності, romanized: Revoliutsiia hidnosti), also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution,[2] took place in Ukraine in February 2014[2][1][26][27][28] at the end of the Euromaidan protests,[1] when deadly clashes between protesters and state forces in the capital Kyiv culminated in the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych, the return to the 2004 Constitution of Ukraine, and the outbreak of the 2014 Russo-Ukrainian War.[1][2]

In November 2013, a wave of large-scale protests known as "Euromaidan" began in response to President Yanukovych's decision not to sign a political association and free trade agreement with the European Union (EU), instead choosing closer ties to Russia. Euromaidan soon developed into the largest democratic mass movement in Europe since 1989.[29] Earlier that year the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) had overwhelmingly approved finalizing the agreement;[30] Russia had pressured Ukraine to reject it.[31] The scope of the protests widened, with calls for the resignation of Yanukovych and the Azarov government.[32] Protesters opposed what they saw as widespread government corruption and abuse of power, the influence of Russia and oligarchs, police brutality, human rights violations,[33][34] and repressive anti-protest laws.[33]

A large, barricaded protest camp occupied Independence Square in central Kyiv throughout the 'Maidan Uprising'. In January and February 2014, clashes between protesters and Berkut special riot police resulted in the deaths of 108 protesters and 13 police officers,[20] and the wounding of many others. The first protesters were killed in fierce clashes with police on Hrushevsky Street on 19–22 January. Following this, protesters occupied government buildings throughout the country, and the Azarov government resigned. The deadliest clashes were on 18–20 February, which saw the most severe violence in Ukraine since it regained independence.[35] Thousands of protesters advanced towards parliament, led by activists with shields and helmets, who were fired on by police snipers.[20]

On 21 February, Yanukovych and the parliamentary opposition signed an agreement to bring about an interim unity government, constitutional reforms and early elections. Police abandoned central Kyiv that afternoon and the protesters took control. Yanukovych fled the city that evening.[36] The next day, 22 February, the Ukrainian parliament voted to remove Yanukovych from office by 328 to 0 (about 73% of the parliament's 450 members).[37][38][39][40] Yanukovych claimed this vote was illegal and asked Russia for help.[41] Russian propaganda described the events as a "coup".[42][43][44]

Pro-Russian, counter-revolutionary protests erupted in southern and eastern Ukraine. Russia occupied and then annexed Crimea,[45][46] while armed pro-Russian separatists seized government buildings and proclaimed the independent states of Donetsk and Luhansk, sparking the Donbas war.

The Ukrainian parliament restored the 2004 amendments to the Ukrainian constitution.[47] An interim government, led by Arseniy Yatsenyuk, signed the EU association agreement and disbanded the Berkut. Petro Poroshenko became president after winning the 2014 presidential elections. The new government began a removal of civil servants associated with the overthrown regime.[48][49][50] There was also widespread decommunization and de-Sovietization of the country.

  1. ^ a b c d Fisher, Max (3 September 2014). "Everything you need to know about the 2014 Ukraine crisis". Vox.
  2. ^ a b c d "Ukraine profile – Timeline". BBC News. 10 May 2012.
  3. ^ "Ukraine: Speaker Oleksandr Turchynov named interim president". BBC News. 23 February 2014.
  4. ^ "Makhnitsky: Some 50 people to be charged with organizing killings of Ukrainians". Kyiv Post. 24 February 2014. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  5. ^ "Ukraine crisis: Lenin statues toppled in protest". BBC News. 22 February 2014. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  6. ^ Novogrod, James (21 February 2014). "Dozens of Ukrainian Police Defect, Vow to Protect Protesters". NBC News. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  7. ^ К сегодняшнему расстрелу митингующих может иметь отношение подразделение 'Альфа' СБУ [By now in massacre of protesters may have relation unit 'Alpha' SBU]. Zerkalo Nedeli (in Russian). Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  8. ^ "EuroMaidan ralles in Ukraine (20 Jan updates)". Kyiv Post. 21 January 2014.
  9. ^ Whitmore, Brian (6 December 2013). "Putin's Growing Threat Next Door". The Atlantic.
  10. ^ "EuroMaidan rallies in Ukraine – Dec. 16". Kyiv Post. 15 December 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  11. ^ "The Council of Maidan Self-Defense Organizes 'United Revolutionary Army' throughout Ukraine". Euromaidan PR. 8 February 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  12. ^ Євромайдан Львів встановив кількісний рекорд. Lviv Expres (in Ukrainian). 1 December 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  13. ^ "EuroMaidan rallies in Ukraine (Jan. 23 live updates)". Kyiv Post. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  14. ^ Тернопільський Євромайдан зібрав більше 10 тисяч людей [Ternopil Eeuromaydan brought together more than 10 thousand people] (in Ukrainian). UA: TE. 8 December 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  15. ^ Мариинском парке собралось около 3–4 тысяч 'титушек' – нардеп [Mariinskyi park were about 3–4 thousand "titushek" – People's Deputy]. UNIAN (in Ukrainian). 22 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  16. ^ В Харькове провели масштабный провластный митинг. BBC (in Russian). 30 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  17. ^ "На провластный митинг в Донецке привезли несколько десятков автобусов 'неравнодушных'". Gazeta.ua. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  18. ^ Наша задача: отстаивать национальные интересы, строить Европу в Крыму и в Украине – Павел Бурлаков [Our task: to defend national interests, to build Europe in the Crimea and in Ukraine – Paul Boatmen]. Новости Крыма [Crimean News] (in Ukrainian). UkraineInfo. 4 December 2013. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  19. ^ ЄвромадаЇ в Україні: Запоріжжя вражало кількістю, а в Одесі пам'ятник Дюку 'одягли' у прапор ЄС [YevromadaYi in Ukraine Zaporizhzhia striking number, and in Odesa Monument to Duke "dressed" in the EU flag] (in Ukrainian). UA: TSN. 24 November 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  20. ^ a b c d e "Accountability for killings in Ukraine from January 2014 to May 2016" (PDF). Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. pp. 9, 21–25.
  21. ^ МОЗ: З початку сутичок померло 28 людей. Ukrainska Pravda (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  22. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference kplivenight was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ "В полоні МВС: затримано 77 активістів, в'язниця загрожує 40 з них". Ukrainska Pravda. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  24. ^ "Police held hostage by protesters in Kiev: interior ministry". Chicago Tribune. 19 February 2014. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  25. ^ "Information about the victims of clashes in the center of Kyiv". Ministry of Healthcare. Archived from the original on 17 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  26. ^ Bruggeman, Lucien (1 October 2019). "Ukraine's 2014 revolution to Trump's push for a Ukrainian probe of Biden: A timeline". ABC News.
  27. ^ "The February revolution". The Economist. 27 February 2014.
  28. ^ Thompson, Nick (10 February 2015). "Ukraine: Everything you need to know about how we got here". CNN.
  29. ^ Gestwa, Klaus (2023). Osteuropa-Historiker vs 8 Thesen zum Ukraine-Krieg [Historian of Eastern Europe vs 8 theses on the Ukrainian War] (in German). Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen Philosophische Fakultät Institut für Osteuropäische Geschichte und Landeskunde. 19-20 minutes in. Retrieved 2 June 2024. Der Euromaidan im Jahr 2013 / 2014 war kein von den USA organisierter und von ukrainischen Faschisten durchgeführter Putsch, wie dies einige hier in Deutschland mit Verweis auf die russischen Medien darstellen wollen. ... Es gibt eine große Zahl von sehr überzeugenden, geschichts-, kultur-, sozial- und politikwissenschaftlichen Studien dazu, dass der Euromaidan die größte demokratische Massenbewegung Europas seit dem Jahr 1989 gewesen ist. [The Euromaidan in 2013 / 2014 was no coup organized by the US and carried out by Ukrainian faschists, as some people here in Germany want to present it with reference to the Russian media. ... There is a large number of very convincing studies from the fields of history, cultural science, social science, and political science showing that the Euromaidan was the largest democratic mass movement in Europe since 1989.]
  30. ^ "Parliament passes statement on Ukraine's aspirations for European integration". Kyiv Post. 22 February 2013. A total of 315 of the 349 MPs registered in the sitting hall supported the document on Friday. The draft document reads that the Verkhovna Rada 'within its powers, will ensure that the recommendations concerning the signing of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, which are stipulated in the resolutions of the European Parliament and the conclusions of the Council of the EU approved on December 10, 2012, at a meeting of the EU foreign ministers, will be fulfilled.'
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  44. ^ Cite error: The named reference MaidanWar was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  45. ^ Sullivan, Tim (1 March 2014). "Russian troops take over Ukraine's Crimea region". Yahoo!. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014.
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