April 17, 2022

The Spirit of Maidan


The Spirit of Maidan
A man bearing the Ukrainian flag during the Maidan protests. Image courtesy spoilt.exile

The resistance demonstrated by Ukrainians in their fight against the Russian invasion is nothing new. It echoes the 2014 Maidan uprising, a tumultuous turning point for Ukrainian politics that simultaneously solidified Ukrainian ideals while also raising Kremlin concerns.

When Ukrainian President Yanukovych reneged on his promise to initiate Ukraine's association agreement with the EU, Ukrainians came out in force to protest. Protests centered on Maidan ("Freedom") Square.

In the 2015 documentary, Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom, we get an up-close look at the Ukrainian struggle against authoritarian power and Russian influence. The documentary follows the protests for 93 days and shows how what began as peaceful demonstrations with a festive atmosphere later devolved into a bloody battleground when government forces showed unexpected and naked brutality.

The film shows how the protest stretched from days into months and the peaceful demonstrations turned into a battle between Berkut forces (Ukrainian riot police) and protesters. The events that unfold are at times unbelievable. The director, Evgeny Afineevsky, takes viewers directly into the crowds, balancing extensive footage of clashes with interviews, including with journalist Mustafa Nayyem, who put the initial call out on Facebook for people to gather on Maidan Square on November 13.

There is considerable humanity shown in the film, as we learn about the experiences of people during Maidan, their thoughts on their fight for freedom, and see them put their heart into the protests. When the Berkut switches from rubber bullets to real ones, it becomes clear that the government will do absolutely anything to protect itself.

Even with the extreme brutality of the government forces, the Maidan protests were a success: in the middle of the night on February 22, 2014, president Yanukovich fled Ukraine.

Maidan succeeded: the president was ousted, there were new, democratic elections, and the EU agreement was signed. But the successes were bittersweet. While the Western-leaning protests were succeeding in some parts of the country, the eastern regions saw a growth in pro-Russian movements. These movements would later devolve into conflict, and a few weeks after Yanukovich fled, Russian forces invaded Crimea and Russia later annexed the territory (which annexation has not been recognized internationally).

While the film does have some problems, including the exclusion of nationalistic rhetoric, the viewer does get an intimate view of the heady days of a revolution, and the power that can come out of a united group of people. As we continue to watch the invasion unfold in Ukraine today and hear stories of the Ukrainian people and military standing against the might of a global power, remembering Maidan can raise hopes that Ukraine will be able to resist its invaders and be the free nation it so wishes to be.

You Might Also Like

  • December 16, 2020

"Map of Resistance" in St. Petersburg

“Not working at all is death… The authorities chose a blow worse than a lockdown. Any sane person understands that the coronavirus is terrible. But this does not mean that the coronavirus should kill an industry to the point that it cannot be restored in any way.” - Alexander Konovalov, organizer of the “Map of Resistance,” a group of bars and restaurants in St. Petersburg that plan to defy new coronavirus restrictions calling to close all bars and restaurants from December 30 through January 3
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955