Understanding Ukraine| Euromaidan, Crimea, war on the East
February 21, 2017 March 3, 2017
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Why did Ukraine's Euromaidan protests begin? In late November 2013, Ukrainians took to the streets in peaceful protest after then-president Viktor Yanukovych chose not to sign an agreement that would have integrated the country more closely with the European Union. As the protests in Kyiv's Independence Square, or Maidan, continued into 2014, the government began cracking down on the demonstrators. The size of the protests only grew in reaction and turned into what was termed "the revolution of dignity." Those who remained on the Maidan risked assault, kidnapping, unlawful arrest, and loss of their jobs. On January 16, the government introduced a series of repressive laws severely restricting civil society and the right to protest. On January 22, the first protesters were killed in clashes in Kyiv; in all, over 100 mostly civilian protesters died, the majority on February 20 and 21. On February 22, after President Yanukovych had fled the country, parliament voted to oust him and hold new elections. On May 25, Ukrainians elected Petro Poroshenko as president. After October elections, a new pro-reform coalition government came into power in December 2014. What were the Euromaidan protests about? The protests were more than a demand for closer EU relations; they were a rejection of injustice as a way of life and of the post-Soviet politics of corruption and nepotism. Ukrainians took to the streets to denounce the country's endemic corruption, from the grand corruption practiced by ex-president Yanukovych and his peers, to everyday corruption and petty unfairness—like the need to bribe a teacher to get better classroom conditions for your children, a doctor to get an appointment, or the traffic police to avoid unlawful fines. Civil society activists and NGOs played an important role in organizing this early protest movement. Ukraine's independent media—including Ukrainska Pravda, Nashi Groshi
Why did Ukraine's Euromaidan protests begin? In late November 2013, Ukrainians took to the streets in peaceful protest after then-president Viktor Yanukovych chose not to sign an agreement that would have integrated the country more closely with the European Union. As the protests in Kyiv's Independence Square, or Maidan, continued into 2014, the government began
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