Maksim has been kneeling on the cold gray cobblestones for almost 10 minutes. Dressed in a military uniform, he stands eerily still in front of the sea of small Ukrainian flags that surrounds Independence Square in Kiev, the country's capital. The so-called Maidan Square is now an altar on which offerings for those who fell in the current great war against Russia stand side by side. in its previous phase, that of Donbass in eastern Ukraine, and in the pro-European, democratic and anti-corruption protests a decade ago. What many call the Revolution of Dignity or Euromaidan marked a crucial turning point in Ukraine's history. The country tried to free itself from the Kremlin's sphere of influence and consolidated its Western orientation, which was reflected a week ago with the start of accession negotiations with the EU.
A turn that Russia did not tolerate and which it is still trying to reverse by force. Many in Ukraine see the all-out war, expected to last 700 days, as another phase in the fight against Moscow imperialism. The bloodiest phase.
These demonstrations full of EU flags – which Russia considers a “coup” – changed the lives of millions of people and, according to Oleksandra Matwitschuk, were one of the first, most decisive steps towards the country's community club becoming independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. “Since then “The change was consolidated, the reforms were successful, that's why Russia started the full-scale invasion, because it realized that we were on the right track and would lose the last opportunity to maintain control over Ukraine,” says the human rights lawyer, who heads Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
A group of priests stood between demonstrators and police in Kyiv's Independence Square on January 24, 2014. Sergei Grits (AP)
Euromaidan, which highlighted a large network of civil society, human rights organizations and anti-corruption organizations, shook the lives of Matvichuk and millions of other people like Maksim, who was a university student at the time and now recently arrived from the Donbass front. “That was my first protest. I took to the streets for a better future, for democratic values. Now I’m fighting the same enemy, Russia, who wants to destroy my country, but I’m fighting with a weapon,” the soldier says, stroking his goatee. He refuses to give his last name. He returns to the front in two days. In this sea of yellow and blue banners, the colors of Ukraine, Maksim placed one that read: “Serhii, we will not forget you.”
In December 2013, thousands of people took to the streets to protest against pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych's decision not to sign an association agreement with the EU after he properly informed Moscow following a visit to Moscow. The rapid, massive mobilization was the culmination of dissatisfaction with the government and its corruption that had been simmering for years. The decision on the European agreement was the spark that ultimately sparked a protest that meant much more, says historian Oleksandr Zinchenko, who also took part in the demonstrations. He assumes that the cause of the Russian invasion of February 2022, which collapsed the European security architecture, lies in Ukraine's independence. And even before that.
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“Our path to the EU began with the collapse of the USSR, when citizens sought to be part of the European family,” says Hana Hopko, another Maidan leader and deputy between 2014 and 2019. “Before the Revolution of Dignity developed Orange Revolution [en 2004]; We Ukrainians have strengthened our identity over the years and are Europeans,” he emphasizes.
The mobilizations on Maidan Square led to street battles. Later, in the fight between the factions, in the police repression. There were a hundred deaths “under the flags of Ukraine and the EU,” recalls Matwitschuk. The pro-Russian Yanukovych fled to Moscow. Citizens who entered his luxurious dacha (country house) found enormous wealth, another sign of rampant corruption. The activists who used such a place to document crimes against citizens and the state proposed building a museum of corruption there.
Crimean invasion
But Russia responded. “When we had the opportunity to make a truly democratic transition, when authoritarianism collapsed because of the Ocean of Dignity, Russia tried to stop us,” says Nobel laureate Matvichuk. In March 2014, Russia invaded Crimea and used military presence to conduct an illegal referendum, after which it annexed the Ukrainian peninsula. Meanwhile, it fueled the war in Donbas, which culminated in a full-scale invasion in 2022.
Oleksandra Matvichuk, lawyer at the Center for Civil Liberties, in its offices in Kiev.María R. Sahuquillo
Continuing its path toward EU membership, Ukraine has included EU and NATO membership as foreign policy goals in its constitution. Since then, the feeling of wanting to become a member of the community club has increased among 95% of citizens, especially after the large-scale invasion. But this path is and will be difficult.
Volodymyr Zelensky's government, which had to complete a series of strategic reforms to initiate negotiations, will have to make many more structural changes to bring the country into line with European standards. Although Matvichuk and Hopko, who know the mechanisms of the reforms well, assure that they were started earlier and that the awareness of their necessity arose right there, in the circles of the Maidan. They agree that great progress has been made since then thanks to the work of civil organizations. However, citizens continue to view corruption, for example, as one of their biggest concerns and one of the country's main problems.
“For years, our first task has been to be successful and to defend our country, our people and our democratic elections from Russian aggression. And secondly, to carry out a democratic transition so that the country is ready to meet all EU membership criteria,” emphasizes Matwitschuk.
Vladislav Maistrouk and Oleksander Zinchenko on Independence Square in Kiev.María R. Sahuquillo
According to Vladislav Maistrouk, who took part in the protests and now works as a television producer, Euromaidan was one of the key moments that “consolidated” Ukrainian identity. “Ukraine has decided not to be an autocracy like Russia or Belarus,” he continues, “to fight for values that are also European and for our dignity.” Now that war is urgent, we cannot have it forget.”
They all agree that the path to the EU will not be easy and long, but they also insist that the reforms demanded by Brussels are necessary with or without EU membership. “When the Revolution of Dignity won, we faced a different, almost more ambitious task: democratization, a gradual transition to EU standards. We talk about judicial reforms, education, economic reforms. There are a lot of reforms, but we are on the right track,” says Matwitschuk. And he adds: “We have been doing it for 10 years and we are doing it successfully, for ourselves, for our future, for reasons of dignity, not just to join the EU.”
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