Ten Years of Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity: Stakes and Consequences
Overview
On November 21, 2013, Ukrainian journalist Mustafa Nayyem posted on his Facebook page: “Come on, let’s get serious. Who is ready to go out to the Maidan by midnight tonight? ‘Likes’ don’t count.” This call for action was answered by thousands of Ukrainians across the nation, who came to protest the refusal of the then-president Viktor Yanukovych to sign the Association Agreement with the EU, and eventually against Yanukovych’s corrupt government itself. The four-months standoff on the Maidan, Kyiv’s central square culminated in the killing of 103 protesters, now known as the Heavenly Hundred. The use of violence by the state against its citizens, unprecedented in Ukraine’s independent history, ultimately backfired and led to the fall of Yanukovych and his government. The victory of the Revolution of Dignity proved unacceptable to the Kremlin which unleashed first a covert and then an overt armed aggression against Ukraine.
What was at stake at Maidan in the winter of 2013/2014? What did the Revolution of Dignity and its aims reveal about Ukraine and its place in the world? Was the promise of the Revolution delivered and what are its lessons? To discuss these questions, Global Europe Program’s Fellow Mariana Budjeryn will hold a discussion with prominent speakers who took direct part in the historic events of 2013/2014 and continue to shape Ukraine’s European future.
This event is part of the Wilson Center's Ukraine in Europe initiative.
Speakers
Hosted By
Global Europe Program
The Global Europe Program is focused on Europe’s capabilities, and how it engages on critical global issues. We investigate European approaches to critical global issues. We examine Europe’s relations with Russia and Eurasia, China and the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Our initiatives include “Ukraine in Europe” – an examination of what it will take to make Ukraine’s European future a reality. But we also examine the role of NATO, the European Union and the OSCE, Europe’s energy security, transatlantic trade disputes, and challenges to democracy. The Global Europe Program’s staff, scholars-in-residence, and Global Fellows participate in seminars, policy study groups, and international conferences to provide analytical recommendations to policy makers and the media. Read more
Kennan Institute
The Kennan Institute is the premier US center for advanced research on Eurasia and the oldest and largest regional program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The Kennan Institute is committed to improving American understanding of Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and the surrounding region though research and exchange. Read more
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