This document summarizes common myths and realities about the 2013/2014 Ukrainian protests, known as Euromaidan or Maydan. It dispels several myths, including that eastern Ukraine opposed the protests, only radicals participated, Yanukovych was legitimately elected, and the protests were only about EU association. In reality, dissatisfaction with Yanukovych's authoritarian actions and falsified elections unified much of Ukraine. The protesters' main demands were Yanukovych's resignation, democratic transitional government and elections.

1. Ukrainian MAYDAN 2013/2014
Myths and Realities

2. 1.
Ukraine is separated into two parts;
protests don’t represent will of all
people, Eastern Ukraine is against Maydan
• This cliché was valid in 2009 before last president
elections. BUT NOT NOW.
• Number of Yanukovych supporters in Eastern
Ukraine has been decreased three times during
last 4 years. Nowadays he is categorically not
accepted by 95% people in Western Ukraine and
around 60% in Eastern Ukraine.

3. 2. Only right radicals are there on Maydan,
they are like Hitler fans
• 50% of protestors on Maydan are intellectuals and middle
class, 20% - Ukrainian nationalists, 20% - representatives of
business suffered from Yanukovych clan.
• Only 10% of protestors are radical youth from right and left
political spectrum.
• To stand 85 days in the cold waiting for political solution is
impossible for radicals. But they are still there!

4. 3. Yanukovych is the legitimately elected
president. You should accept this and wait till
the next elections.
• Yanukovych was elected for rather different powers. Similar
powers like Italian or German presidents have. But he bribed judges
in Constitutional Court who illegitimately changed the Constitution
according to which presidents becomes a head of executive power
(like in France or the USA).
• Besides, he practically eliminated judiciary and made all judges
fully dependent on his personal will. (Timoshenko imprisonment is
only one out of the thousand such lawsuits).
• Also he destroyed the system of free and fair elections. All
Ukrainians witnessed cynical and outright Parliament elections in
2012 which were not recognized as democratic by European
inspectors either. So there’s no reason to wait for the next falsified
elections.

5. 4. Unpopular political decision – refusal of EU
Association – is not an occasion for revolution.
• It is not refusal of EU Association which provoke people to
rebel, but cruel drubbing of peaceful students, who come to protest
against such refusal. People rely on EU Association not because of
possible economic benefits (most of them understand there could
be even “anti-benefits”), but because they hope to restore law and
democracy in Ukraine (fair courts, capable parliament, human
policy etc.).
• After the Association had been refused, people understood they
have nothing to wait for. And cruel drubbing of students (children
of 16-20 years old) on the 30th of November became that last
straw which broke camel’s back.
• That was the beginning: 200 000 people came to Maydan on the 1st
of December. Around million people were there the following
weekend (there’re 2,7 million inhabitants in Kyiv)…

6. 5. It is not clear what do Ukrainians want? Who
will be instead of Yanukovych?
• It is the simplest:
Ukrainians want fair and free elections. Full
stop.

7. 6. Conflicts in Ukraine are due to political
struggle between current power and opposition
or geopolitical struggle between EU and Russia.
This thesis is the most plausible. But see the
answer for p.5, it is strongly correlated with the
requirements of people on Maydan:
Ukrainians want fair and free elections.

8. 7. Those on Maydan want forcibly seize the
power and don’t want to negotiate. All sides
are to blame for blood of people.
• Requirements of people on Maydan are clear and well-defined:
1. Yanukovych resignation;
2. Transitional government which could guaranty democratic
elections
3. Early president and parliament elections.
• Protestors were PEACEFULLY staying on Maydan for almost 90 days
under the frost of -20C waiting to be heard. It didn’t happen.
• Then they decided to come closer to government buildings. But
authorities ordered to shoot.
• People on Maydan still DON’T SHOOT. Molotov’s cocktails and
burning tires are the most dangerous weapons which help to stop
attacks of rabid dogs of criminal regime.
• Not only policy (where all leaders were bribed by Yanukovych as
well) is used against protesters, but semi-legal militarized “titushki”
(“death squard”) who carry out terror among civil society activists.

9. …we’ll lay down our souls and bodies to attain
our freedom*…
* National anthem of Ukraine