Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Ukrainian for Independence Square), served as the main stage for all the biggest protest movements in the history of independent Ukraine. It hosted a student-driven Revolution on Granite in 1991, the Orange Revolution in 2004, and the EuroMaidan Revolution in 2013-2014.
The EuroMaidan Revolution, often dubbed in Ukraine the Revolution of Dignity, started on Nov. 21, 2013 with a protest against the government’s decision to turn away from the Association Agreement with the European Union and instead consider joining Russia and Belarus in their Customs Union. Millions of people protested in Kyiv and around Ukraine, with a permanent camp set on Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square and Khreshchatyk Street.
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The revolution culminated on Feb. 18-20, 2014, when several dozen protesters were killed within three days. The total toll is close to 100 people, prompting the name “Heavenly Hundred” for the slain protesters. The revolution succeeded: on Feb. 22, then-President Viktor Yanukovych fled Ukraine. Many of his close allies followed and now live in Russia and Western Europe. The camp stayed on Maidan Nezalezhnosti for several months.
On the five-year anniversary of the culmination of the EuroMaidan Revolution, the Kyiv Post looks at what the central square of the revolution looked like on Feb. 20, 2014, and how it changed in five years.
Left: Anti-government protesters dig up cobblestones to use them as rocks against riot police on Kyiv’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square on Feb. 19, 2014. (AFP) Right: People cross Maidan Nezalezhnosti on the chilly morning of Feb. 20, 2019. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Left: A general view of Maidan Nezalezhnosti is seen during the face off against heavily-armed police on Feb. 20, 2014 in Kyiv. (AFP) Right: A general view of Maidan Nezalezhnosti on Feb. 20, 2019. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Left: Anti-government protesters stand on a barricade on Instytutska Street near Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv on Feb. 20, 2014. (AFP) Right: People walk up Instytutska Street in Kyiv on Feb. 20, 2019. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Left: Demonstrators sit by the bodies of two anti-government protesters killed by a sniper during clashes with the police on Instytutska Street Kyiv on Feb. 20, 2014. (AFP) Right: A memorial for the slain EuroMaidan Revolution protesters stands on Instytutska Street on Feb. 20, 2019. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Left: People gather at Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square in central Kyiv on Feb. 21, 2014. (AFP) Right: People pass Maidan Nezalezhnosti on Feb. 20, 2019. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
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