Tire fires replaced by votive candles in Kyiv

In my last post, I expressed my fear that Euromaidan would not survive the onslaught of Berkut and militsia troops that had overrun Hrushevskoho Street and surrounded Maidan.  I thought it was over, and was grieving inside for the lost chance for Ukrainians to overthrow a thug government.

I was wrong to be so pessimistic.  I'm watching streaming video right now of Yulia Tymoshenko speaking to the crowd at Maidan, sitting in a wheelchair.  Even though I can't understand much of what she is saying, it's an incredibly powerful and moving scene.  Who could ever have thought, on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, that we could be watching this on Saturday?  They stood their ground when their government labelled them terrorists and vowed to use any means necessary to clear Maidan.  The people standing in Maidan Nezalezhnosti stared down troops itching for sustained violence on Tuesday.  They stood their ground even as they saw their peers being shot and killed randomly by snipers on Wednesday.  In the end, they won, and now it's back to 2004 again:  Yulia Tymoshenko on the stage addressing people willing to give up their lives for basic rights. 

At this moment, Yanukovich has been stopped at Kharkiv airport as he was trying to flee to Russia.  His Interior Minister--the one in charge of the Berkut and militsia--has also been stopped at the border trying to flee.  Yanukovich's house has been invaded, and the public are seeing how he lived (including a gold toilet).  The police have disappeared from Kyiv.

It is a remarkable outcome, determined by incredibly brave men and women.  I hope that, this time, Ukraine will not slip backwards to the kind of government Yanukovich created in 2010. 

Disturbing day in Kyiv

As I write this, police ("militia" and Berkut) have overrun the barricades on Hrushevskoho Street, and taken control of Ukrainian House on European Square once again.  The protesters had taken control of both in late January.  The convoy of buses carrying hundreds of Berkut troops is staged to move through the "checkpoint" established on Sunday on Hrushevskoho.  The Minister of Interior Affairs has promised to "clean up" Maidan tonight.  Euromaidan PR reports that police have surrounded Maidan on all sides.  It's hard to see how the Euromaidan movement will survive through the night.  If Euromaidan falls, Viktor Yanukovich and his police state win.

The script has played out exactly as some feared.  The opposition leaders agreed to clear Hrushevskoho for traffic to move again, and return four state buildings, including the Kyiv City Administration building.  One fear voiced at the time was that opening up Hrushevskoho would make it possible for Berkut buses to eventually drive down Hrushevskoho in large numbers and threaten Maidan.  The process of clearing the street included clearing huge piles of debris and the large ice field that had formed in the no-man's land between the police and the protestors.  As an obstacle, it was formidable.

The small opening that was created through the barricades Sunday was about 4 meters wide, but that was all the police needed today.  I watched a webcam live this morning as the police overran the barricades, using sheer numbers to push through the Euromaidan defense.  Control of Hrushevskoho also meant that the police had a clear path to Ukrainian House, and the manpower to capture it.

As it stands right now, a large crowd has gathered in Maidan, and from the stage the opposition leaders have urged Ukrainians to come to the Square.  Meanwhile, the Kyiv metro was shut down earlier this evening, making it difficult for people living in suburbs like Nivky and Sviatoshin to get there.

And if Maidan fails, what's next?

Saying the unbelievable with a straight face

I've been following the situation in Ukraine, and among the crazy things the government has said is this, from the Interior Minister.  According to a BBC report, quoting Interfax-Ukraine, the Interior Minister stated that people from western Ukraine (anti-Yanukovich, pro-democracy) are being parachuted into other parts of Ukraine to stir up trouble against the government.  He said the parachuting western Ukrainians were "provocateurs."  As nuts as that sounds, he says it with a straight face and in the knowledge that there are some in the country who will believe it.  It's also one of many examples of how the government demonstrates its lack of respect for Ukrainians by thinking they would all believe it.

The story reminded me, however, of a crazier news report we heard when we first lived in Ukraine.  A Russian TV news program reported that, according to Putin, the British were spying on Russians, and Muscovites in particular, through microphones placed around Moscow.  Here's the crazy part:  Putin explained that the British had hidden the microphones inside of rocks, and placed the rocks on street corners around Moscow.  And again, he did it with a straight face.

The struggle for Ukraine

Computers and the Internet have given us the ability to watch, from our recliners, the conflicts taking place around the world.  We've reached a point in history when it is very difficult for governments to hide what they are doing in public places.  What's not clear to me is whether being able to bear witness through technology translates into any meaningfully different forms of response.

I have paid close attention to the protests and police actions in Kyiv, Ukraine.  My family lived in Kyiv for ten months just after the Orange Revolution.  We walked through Maidan most days, and spent a lot of time in an office on Hrushevskoho Street, right across from the entrance to the Dynamo football stadium and the site of the most recent battles between protesters and police.  The images are surreal and disorienting.  It's hard to recognize the place, littered with burnt shells of Berkyut buses and tire fires and dislodged, broken cobblestones.  Every so often, a cameraman will scan the scene, and in the background will be the storefront of a high-end, Western store.  It's a strange juxtaposition.

Over the 63 or so days since the protests began, many people have posted videos documenting police violence against protestors.  To say they are disturbing is an understatement.  In December, for instance, a video circulated of a man lying on the ground being hit repeatedly with batons and kicked by numerous riot policemen as they ran past.  I have watched live feeds from Espresso TV and other sources linked on the Kyiv Post, and seen the police surge against the protesters and then retreat.  News sources from around the world have shown images of badly injured protesters.

But how has that changed the way the world reacts?  More than 8 years after Ukrainians fought for fair elections by occupying Maidan and eventually electing a President committed to democracy, Viktor Yanukovich seems free to impose a police state and play the role of dictator.  Don't like the fact that most of the protesters have put on helmets and masks to protect themselves and their identities from police and prosecution?  Pass a law that makes it illegal for protesters to wear helmets and masks during protests!  That law was passed last Friday, around 57 days after the protests began, and after 57 days of non-response by Europe and the US.

If Yanukovich felt the need to be cautious in December, he doesn't any more.  The rest of the world has revealed its preference to let him do as he pleases.  All that's left is for the people of Ukraine to fight alone against a police state that cares nothing about them.