Ukrainians Reflect Bitterly On 'Betrayed Hopes' Of Euromaidan
By Christopher Miller
KYIV -- Between classes in Kolkata, India, 17-year-old Svyatoslav Yurash was glued to a video stream of almost a million of his compatriots rallying in Ukraine's capital when he decided to join the protest that would soon swell into a revolt.
The night before in Kyiv -- on November 30, 2013 -- hundreds of demonstrators, most of them students, had been bludgeoned by riot police. The idealistic Yurash couldn't stand by any longer. He flew home and rushed to Independence Square -- better known as simply the Maidan. Soon, he would launch the influential Euromaidan PR agency that amplified voices from the barricades in half a dozen or so languages across almost as many platforms.
Out on the Maidan, the "loss of hope" that had driven Yurash out of Ukraine after the 2010 election victory of pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych faded. As he and his fellow protesters pressed their case for closer ties to the West and greater transparency, fighting back the ranks of riot police, passion swelled within him. He sensed that his country was finally on the right track, which for him meant the path toward Europe as a thriving new democracy and away from Russia's smothering sphere of influence.
Three years later, that passion has turned to frustration.
Yanukovych might be in Russian exile, but many of Ukraine's would-be revolutionaries say they are disillusioned by the lack of progress and complain that the country is now dangerously close to being rerouted from the European track set out by the uprising.
This ends our live blogging for December 28. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.