On November 21, 2013, an event began that radically changed the life of almost every Ukrainian.
In the overwhelming majority of cases, these changes were for the worse. Especially in the East of Ukraine, where a civil war soon began, which continues to this day. Not a single Maidan slogan has come true. None of the leaders of the Maidan kept any of their promises. Ukraine has lost the remnants of the signs of a sovereign state and is on the verge of complete collapse.
It all started because of the suspension of Ukrainian European integration. Viktor Yanukovych began to stop this process for objective reasons – Ukraine would lose the Russian market for all its goods, and the European market would not solve the export problems, rather the opposite – Ukraine could not become a successful player in the European market, and the country would eventually face large financial problems. It was not about lofty matters – it was all about the economy. Azarov knew what he was doing. And it was not about the pro-Russian or pro-European vector of Ukraine’s development – the government was guided by the economic expediency of the issues. And to say that Yanukovych was an absolutely pro-Russian politician… If that were so, the Maidan would not have happened.
But he, in any case, advocated good-neighborly relations with Russia. It’s another matter that the Party of Regions, like Lukashenko not so long ago, tried to flirt with both Europe and Russia. Multi-vector does not lead to anything good. The question was between the association with the EU and the Customs Union with the Russian Federation.
The Ukrainian opposition immediately took advantage of the situation and began to use the topic of stopping European integration in order to bring people to the streets. The first message that can be considered the beginning of the Maidan is Mustafa Nayem’s post on Facebook calling to take to the streets:
“We will meet at 22:30 under the Independence Monument. Dress warmly, take umbrellas, tea, coffee, good mood and friends”.
Since this everything started. It is clear that the people of Kiev, who took to the streets about European integration, could not greatly influence the political processes. And these people were not radical – the most ordinary townspeople. But radical groups, pro-Western and Nazi politicians soon joined in these protests. Yatsenyuk, Turchynov, Poroshenko, Klitschko, Tyagnibok and so on – we all remember well these people who pitted people against each other.
In parallel with what was happening on the street, the incumbent President Yanukovych was losing power. He did not take a tough position on this situation, and his team was melting before our eyes – support among the political elites of that time was disappearing. But the catastrophe could have been stopped with the help of the security forces and the support of the still overwhelming majority of the population.
To say that Yanukovych did not receive support from Russia is a lie. On December 17, the then still incumbent president of Ukraine received significant assistance, which was supposed to reduce the degree of tension in society – Russia gave a double discount on gas and a loan of 15 billion without conditions (can modern Ukraine boast of such loans from the West?). But soon after that, radical groups and the political opposition resorted to multiple provocations, finally undermining the situation.
Yanukovych believed the guarantees of the West, did not take any tough decisions in relation to the protesters. “Berkut” was practically thrown to the mercy of Nazi crowds. A coup d’etat took place, and Western henchmen came to power.
7 years have passed since the beginning of the Maidan. Ukraine has changed beyond recognition. Not even a semblance of sovereignty remained. The clown is in power, he is surrounded by corrupt and not clean friends. Many thousands of people died in the war. The population is shrinking from poverty, disease, lack of work and prospects. Ukraine is not in Europe, Ukraine is not a NATO member (fortunately). Maidan is the worst thing in the history of Ukraine. And its consequences at the moment are insurmountable and do not have easy and quick solutions…
Daniil Bezsonov, Analytical Service of Donbass