Report from Maidan on the Spirit of Demonstrations in Kiev

This is the translation of something posted by my friend Iryna Lisova on her Facebook page. It conveys the spirit of the Maidan demonstrations in Kiev. 


Today was my first full-time day at the Euromaidan. The Maidan is nearly three weeks old. I am assisting foreign reporters. I've been to both headquarters at Kiev City Hall and the Union Building.

To those who are against the Maidan I wish to say: do you actually like the system that we all live in? I'm one of those who goes to the Maidan not because of the EU issue. I'm simply fed up with bureaucracy, corruption, and the incompetence of government officials high and low, as well as the everyday manifestations of all this.

I am overjoyed to see people finally gathering the courage to speak out. It was always easier for me, too, to say to myself, "I can't do anything about it." I'm happy to say I've begun to believe the opposite.

When I see politicians walking around the halls taking care of business, I can't help thinking: princesses have to poop, too. I can't say I care much for the opposition threesome [I think she means Yatseniuk, Klychko, and Tiagnibok] based on appearance alone; that's just my own issue. Ruslana [famous Ukrainian singer] is magical. She is incredibly tired, but her energy would fill stadiums, I am sure.

At City Hall today journalists were interviewing people from the crowd. A young man of about 20 said more substance per sentence than any politician I heard today.

There's not a single drunk on the street, not a single scuffle. I find myself looking suspiciously at men in striped "Abibas" pants and wondering if they're just petty hooligans or actual provocateurs [people who are paid to break the law or commit violent acts to justify the use of force against demonstrators].

The tea with lemon, ginger, and arrowwood that people are handing out is magnificent.

The weather is something fierce. Tomorrow I'll be wearing all the thermal underwear that I take hiking in the mountains. I just need to get ahold of some thermal skin.

No matter what happens next, things will never be as they were before.

Read about the significance of the Euromaidan at TryUkraine.com

Euromaidan: Where to Follow the News on Demonstrations in Kiev

It is an interesting period for Ukraine right now. On November 21 Ukrainian leaders unexpectedly suspended preparations for signing an Association Agreement with the European Union. Ever since then protests have been taking place in Kiev and other cities around Ukraine. The demonstrations have been called "Euromaidan" and began exactly 9 years to the day after the start of the Orange Revolution.

A substantial majority of Ukrainians support the path of European integration. This is not an issue that splits the country in half like the Orange Revolution. Most politicians consider the country's European course the only possible option. And yet Yanukovich abandoned negotiations.

The latest news can be read at the well-known Pravda.com.ua site in Ukrainian and Russian. Lenta.ru has faster and more news in Russian.

Pravda.com.ua now has a news feed in English.

There is also a TV station broadcasting live in Ukrainian: http://hromadske.tv/

A summary of events can be read on Wikipedia in English.

Read about the significance of the Euromaidan at TryUkraine.com