United For Freedom: The Remarkable Story Of A Living Chain Across Ukraine

On January 21, 1990, Ukrainians came together to celebrate the 71st anniversary of the short-lived Ukrainian republic that was founded in 1919. They formed a human chain that stretched from Lviv (shown) to the capital, Kyiv. Official figures said 450,000 people took part in the chain, but unofficial estimates put the numbers as high as 5 million. It was the largest demonstration in late Soviet Ukraine.

 

People line the middle of a street in Kyiv.

The historical event occurred during a period of significant political change in the Soviet Union. Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of "glasnost" (openness) and "perestroika" (restructuring) had led to increased political freedom and activism. 

 

The Chain of Unity, also known as the Ukrainian Wave, passed through major cities, including Kyiv (pictured), Lviv, and Donetsk.

Elections in March 1990 fractured the Communist Party's monopoly on power in Ukraine. Months later, as Gorbachev sought to prevent the disintegration of the U.S.S.R., hundreds of thousands of people participated in protests and strikes across Ukraine calling for independence. 

 

People in Kyiv near the National Opera and Ballet Theater, named after the famous Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko.

During the Soviet era, expressions of Ukrainian linguistic, cultural, and religious identity were suppressed. 

Representatives of the Donetsk and Kharkiv delegations participated in Kyiv with a banner that read, "Kharkiv and Donetsk have been Ukrainian since time immemorial."  
 

People line the street near Rynok Square in Lviv.
 

A man in Lviv holds a sign that points to Kyiv.

A rally at the Spartak stadium in Zhytomyr.
 

Following the protest, participants assemble at Kyiv's Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Square, now known as the Sofia Maidan, to honor the 1919 anniversary.
 

Following a failed coup attempt in Moscow and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine declared its independence on August 24, 1991.