RuthDeyermondToday is the 9th anniversary of the start of Euromaidan. It was obvious from the start that something exceptional was happening, even compared with the Orange Revolution. It now looks like the most significant turning point in Europe's politics/security in the post-Cold War era.
A lot of western Europeans seemed bemused that something as arcane as the failure to sign an Association Agreement with the EU could trigger popular protests on this scale. But, of course, it was about much more than that.
I'll leave it to the Ukrainians on here to say what it meant for them then and now. But at the time it seemed to me to be a rejection of the corruption of the then-govt, and of the idea of Ukraine as a country necessarily and always in Russia's shadow.
Above all, it seemed to be about rethinking Ukrainian identity as a European country, rejecting the post-Soviet identity label that had been attached to it by other people since 1992.
That was, and continues to be, very annoying for those governments, analysts, and ideologues both east and west of Ukraine who have always found it more convenient if Ukraine shut up and sat down.
Depressingly, twitter (though hopefully not this place) is still awash with claims that this wasn't a genuine grassroots protest. I suspect a lot of the westerners repeating this Russian propaganda in good faith weren't paying any attention to Ukraine at the time, let alone before it.
The ludicrous and offensive idea that this was a western coup has been around for years; it's a product of Russian govt paranoia about protests and a way of explaining the failure of their attempt to consolidate Ukraine as a passive, client state.
Russian governmental anxiety about the geopolitical consequences of the Revolution of Dignity amplified their existing worries about govt-overthrowing popular protests in states they thought of as part of their sphere of interest, as well as in Russia itself.
How can you be a great power - something absolutely central to Russian govt ideas about Russian national identity - if you don't have a sphere of influence? And if you can't stop Ukraine, above all, embracing a western-facing identity, then you have no sphere of influence worth mentioning. And what would Russia be then?
Consequences of that anxiety include Russia's annexation of Crimea, the puppet separatists in Donbas, and increased interference in the domestic politics of EU and NATO states, including the US. The whole of Europe is different because of what started 9 years ago, and because of Russia's responses to it. That has consequences for the whole world, as we're seeing at the moment.
Anyway, congratulations to Ukraine on today's 9th anniversary. I hope they can celebrate the 10th anniversary in a country at peace and finally in possession of all its legally recognised territory.
Mihailik 🌼🌼🌼🏃🏿♀️🌼🌼🌼Thank you very much! ♥️♥️♥️
I want to add that #Ukrainian story is indeed very special and significant in Europe, but there are analogs.
And the most important is #EndSARS in #Nigeria, sharing lots of key factors.
Spontaneous grassroot uprising, completely rooted in simple dignity of an ordinary man. Underestimated power of the people. Underestimated importance of the country on the world stage.
#Nigerian story is not finished, and it may well repeat Ukrainian double-revolution rhythm with elections next year, and pro-democracy untainted candidate creating massive wave of hope against ingrained forces of corruption.
We had it with #Yuschenko first, they have #PeterObi as a follow-up.
The other very important part is what starts the wave of resistance.
#AshaRangappa noted that cohesion, low-level trust and mutual support is the key to such liberation movements.
And she is so right in both #Ukrainian and #Nigerian contexts. Ukrainian revolution of dignity was prefaced with two events.
First, a snowy winter where people spontaneously started to help each other. Digging out snowed cars, picking sad cold drivers from roadside.
Second, police brutality rape and attempted murder in a provincial town, that got folks not just angry but woke their demand for dignity. Burner down police station, massive march across the country — that was few months earlier than Maidan.
Ordinary people finding their strength, rising to BE HUMANS so often starts from first SEEING your fellow man as a friend.
And it went through that same ignition in #Nigeria.
Cynicism and distrust create a mighty barrier to progress. Worth keeping in mind that dynamic.