During 2014, What Started out As the Euro-Maidan
No. 3 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2015 5 2014: THE YEAR IN REVIEW From Euro-Maidan to Revolution of Dignity uring 2014, what started out as the Euro-Maidan was transformed into the Revolution of Dignity. By Dyear’s end, Ukraine had a new president, a new Verkhovna Rada and a new government. And, at the end of the year, the Rada voted to abandon the country’s previ- ous “non-bloc” status and set a course for NATO member- ship. A civilizational choice had been made. As the year began, there was concern about the regular presidential election that was to be held in March 2015 as the opposition – that is the pro-Western parties of Ukraine – appeared to have no unified election strategy other than being against Viktor Yanukovych. Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR) Chair Vitali Klitschko was call- ing on his rivals to ditch their campaigns and unite behind his single candidacy. The expected Batkivshchyna candi- date, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and Svoboda party candidate Oleh Tiahnybok said they would compete independently in the first round of the presidential election. Billionaire confectionary magnate Petro Poroshenko also was plan- ning to throw his hat into the ring. The concern among observers was that so many candidates could cannibalize the pro-Western vote or spread it too thinly, letting anoth- Vladimir Gontar/UNIAN er victory slip through their fingers. On January 10 came The scene on January 20 on Kyiv’s Hrushevsky Street, where violent clashes between the Berkut and protesters news of a rift between Euro-Maidan activists and leaders broke out on January 19 and were continuing.
[Show full text]