The Movement that Shocked the World called Euromaidan

Ukraine has recently shaken the world with a phenomenon called Euromaidan, a collective name for some extraordinary events that took place on the main square of its capital. A dormant post-soviet country "somewhere by Russia" suddenly made it to the major media headlines and stayed there for three months straight. And it wasn't just a pretty picture of impressive crowds or transmundane tire-fires that captured the eye of the public. This uprising, that looked at first just like any other "color revolution", quickly escalated into a strong self-organized and structured movement, becoming a higher level of protest for Ukraine in particular and Europe in general. Caused by a number of political and social tensions, this national crisis still keeps developing even after the notorious president and his government are gone, inciting both an informational and an actual war between Ukraine and Russia.

When analyzing the recent events in Ukraine, it is important to keep its recent history in mind. A post-soviet country that never really grew into the role of being independent became tired of the corrupt and shameless ways of their puppet and dictator-like government, left over from the Communist regime. The Orange revolution that happened in 2004 gave a chance for some changes that never occurred, so a few years later the very same person who people protested against back then, Yanukovych, became a democratically elected president. He gradually altered the system from within to eventually gather all political and financial power into his own hands. "The leader had been a common criminal: a rapist and a thief. He found a judge who was willing to misplace documents related to his case. That judge then became the chief justice of the Sup...

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...ough choices. This decision and the ramifications for the future of Ukraine and around the globe have been brought about by ordinary people who just stood up for their freedom and human rights. Ukraine has had to pay for choosing freedom and human rights with blood and death, therefore the world should take a closer look at what is often taken for granted. Euromaidan is far from over and has many more lessons to teach the world, if it will listen and learn.

Works Cited

Onuch, Olga, and Gwendolyn Sasse. "What Does Ukraine’s #Euromaidan Teach Us about Protest?" WashingtonPost.com. The Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2014. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

Snyder, Timothy. "Ukraine: The Haze of Propaganda." NYRblog. The New York Review of Books, 01 Mar. 2014. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.

Snyder, Timothy. "What the West Owes Ukraine." CNN. Cable News Network, 25 Feb. 2014. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.