On 21 November 2013, the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych broke off negotiations for a planned association agreement with the EU under pressure from Russia. Civil society organisations and thousands of students gathered in the central square in Kyiv for a peaceful protest against corruption and abuse of power. The "Revolution of Dignity" began when security forces attempted to use violence to stop the protest and it lasted for months. Millions of Ukrainians across the country took to the streets to demand systemic reforms and the punishment of those responsible, which ultimately led to the president fleeing the country. Shortly afterwards, Russia occupied Crimea and started the war in eastern Ukraine.
How should these events be categorised ten years later and how have the country and its society changed since then? What role have civil society organisations that emerged from the Revolution of Dignity played in Ukraine's rapprochement with the EU? What mistakes were made by the German side in assessing the events and what lessons can be learnt from them?
We discuss these and other questions with our guest Inna Nelles, who played a leading role during the 2013/2014 protests: she coordinated the speaker's platform on Maidan Nesaleshnosti, led the civil movement "Chesno" and reported on the events together with her team on Facebook.
Inna Nelles is co-founder of the German-Ukrainian Office and the Public Interest Journalism Lab, analyst and expert for advocacy and strategic communication.
Host: Nataliya Pryhornytska, political scientist and co-founder of the Alliance of Ukrainian Organizations.
Episode #19 of UkraineMEMO is also available here:
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With its podcast “UkraineMEMO: Interviews, Analysis, Policy Advice”, IEP presents new perspectives on Ukraine. With guests from Germany and Ukraine, Ljudmyla Melnyk and Nataliya Pryhornytska discuss recent developments and long-term trends in the areas of Ukrainian politics, economy and society and thus provide an insight into events on the ground that are moving the country. Ukraine's relationship with Germany and the EU is always kept in mind.
The podcast is produced as part of the “UA Transformation Lab” project and is funded by the Federal Foreign Office.
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