Ukraine: A Nation's Awakening
After the crisis ends, Ukraine will be a different country, says Orest Franchuk, a EUSTORY alumni and law student at the University of Kiev who has been on the Maidan from the very first night of 21st November 2013. He talks about his fears, hopes, and reasons for joining the protests.
This article is part of a series of reflections by young Europeans, prepared in cooperation between FutureLab Europe and the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.
"Thanks to the courage, heroism and sacrifice of the heroes of Maidan, the bloody regime fell. Now, Ukraine bears responsibility before the “Heavenly Hundred”, as we call the perished protesters. We need to totally reboot Ukraine. And not let the old opposition become the new Yanukovych.
I have been to the Maidan from the very first night of 21st November 2013 and I witnessed the process of a nation’s awakening. Ukraine as a nation was born, united like never before. Maidan brought different people together and showed that there’s no West or East of Ukraine as the Western media put it; Ukraine is a whole. This is why I am somewhat enthusiastic.
The crisis in Crimea is the end of the Ukraine-Russia relationship. The gross violation of international law, namely of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter which established an absolute prohibition of the use of force, opened the eyes of those who were still blind. Russia showed its real face; it is not a “brother” state for Ukraine but an aggressor, hungry for blood. The military intervention in Crimea united Ukraine even more than after Maidan. People are overwhelmed with patriotism, something I haven’t seen in a while. Even in the far Eastern regions people protest against Russia’s intervention. You would often see ethnic Russians holding posters saying “I’m Russian and I don’t need your protection”. More than 90% of Ukraine’s population are reported to associate themselves as Ukrainians and are ready to take firearms to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity if necessary. There are crowds of men near military commissariats all over Ukraine signing on as volunteers to join the army if intervention escalates. The rest are ready to pay higher taxes to finance the army. Russia’s attempt to split the country failed.
Russia has to leave. It won’t win this war. In the future, I think, Ukraine will probably stop being a non-aligned state. I hear talks about Ukraine’s possible future joining of NATO. The new government has resumed the process of signing the Association agreement with EU. All I can say now is that after the crisis ends, Ukraine will be a different country.
But many fears remain. Those fears are the “old faces” in politics who don’t change but rotate in the Parliament and Government. Oligarchs remain in power as they were. People fear that a new “big game” is being played behind the scenes while they keep standing at Maidan. And those fears are very likely to be real as reported lately by many Ukrainian journalists.
The “sins” of the old opposition are well remembered and that is what people fear. That’s why the number one demand of Maidan is total lustration including the opposition. Ukraine needs “new faces” in power, people who were not spotted in any corruption schemes or in allies with Yanukovych.
But those people must be professionals. Motivation is not enough to pull Ukraine out of decline. However, professionalism doesn’t appear to be the case with the new proposed government. Protesters from the Maidan have a certain scenario that they fear: Should the new government which includes some activists from Maidan fail – due to a lack of professionalism - this could give way for “professionalists” to come. The scenario of these “professionals” scares me.
The protesters’ distrust is further fuelled by the fact that many MPs from the Party of Regions, which was controlled by Yanukovych now openly support the “new power”. People speculate that they’ve probably made a “deal” with the old opposition. It seems ominous that they have no fear.
Our biggest fear now is that nothing will change – the same disappointment we had after 2004 Orange Revolution.
Let me explain the reasons for my distrust: I was born in an already independent Ukraine but I remember that things were not going well. When I was a kid my parents complained about all the injustice and corruption, about all the bureaucracy they had to go through. I was young and naïve and thought that everything couldn't be that bad, that it’s perfectly possible to fight the corruption and injustice. I was wrong. When I was in high school I started witnessing all that first-hand. Everyone was taking bribes: teachers, doctors, and police. The corruption was so deeply rooted that I started thinking maybe nothing could be done against it. Still being somewhat romantic and naïve, I went to law school. Thinking that everything would change.
At classes we were learning about the rule of law, justice and the rights and freedoms of people. That was only a theory. When I got a summer job as an assistant attorney my perspective changed dramatically. I went to court hearings, experienced talking to police and prosecutors. There I experienced what my parents were talking about 10 years ago. Nothing has changed; disrespect for human rights, total corruption, injustice and bureaucracy were deeply rooted in the system. The apartments of Yanukovych and the ex-general prosecutor Pshonka have recently provided another evidence; everything is literally covered in gold.
I joined the protests because I always felt European. On the very first day we weren’t too many people. mainly students like me who had their future to lose. It is true that we took to the streets due to the failed Association Agreement with the EU, although some of the protesters were even against it. But throughout three months of Maidan, Europe seized to be the aim. Flags turned from those of EU to blue and yellow.
People started shouting "resignation" and "responsibility". Ukrainians were united in their opposition against the regime. And those were not the far-right or extremists as some media put it; those were regular people, mostly well educated. Many of my professors and classmates were among them.
Now, after the bloody regime fell, people are very much disappointed by the EU’s inaction during the protests. While protesters were killed in cold blood, all the EU had to say was that it was “deeply concerned”. Where were the EU cornerstone values of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights?
People feel betrayed by EU. They feel anger and disrespect for the EU. But despite these feelings, People still feel inspired and ready to work hard for European values. We will get rid of our “Soviet past”: Hundreds of Lenins fell. People don’t associate themselves as “Slavic brothers” of Russia. They feel European.
Finally, after 23 years of Independence, Ukraine got a chance for a new future. But a lot of work has to be done."