38 Shares

euromaidan kiev ukraine flags

Kiev, Ukraine’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti is visually intimidating yet conversely welcoming for a city center that resembles a war zone. Translated into Independence Square, locals simply refer to it as Maidan, a word that has grown to carry with it deep connotations in Ukraine. This is where on November 21, 2013, a wave of revolutionary demonstrations were sparked by the government of President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to back out of signing Association and Free Trade Agreements with the European Union.

Core elements of the Association Agreement were signed by the new Ukrainian government earlier this month, less than 4 weeks after “Euromaidan” protestors ousted Yanukovych but for those camped out in Maidan, there is still a long way to go.

kiev maidan protestor ukraine guy fawkes mask kiev maidan ukraine

Perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions about Independence Square is that it is dangerous to walk around.

kiev maidan atmosphere

Maidan is the downtown area of Kiev and people still visit the shops around with coffees from McDonald’s in their hands.

kiev maidan ukrainian flag


Other elements of the square have their own capitalist interests.

kiev maidan costumes

That is not to say there aren’t millions of reminders of the struggle waged and lives lost.

kiev maidan flowers

Most of the people I spoke with camped out in Maidan say they will wait until the upcoming presidential elections on May 25, 2014.

kiev maidan soldiers militia

Passersby look at the remains of an armored police vehicle destroy during the riots. The asphalt still smelled of gas, which continues to slowly leak out of rusted fuel tanks.

RELATED
Be Sure To Do This Before Visiting The Tesla Museum In Belgrade, Serbia

kiev maidan armored police infantry vehicle

Free soup and bread are available throughout the day, something many of the local poor have come to rely on.

kiev maidan free food soup

A piano that has been in Maidan since the early days of the revolution, which musicians played during the worst of the fighting.

maidan piano

I was fortunate to capture this talented artist one afternoon. In the video right, people relive tension with the tick tap of ping pong balls on saturated wood.

Flowers in front of a makeshift memorial.

flowrs kiev maidan makeshift memorial

Archangel Mikhail, Kiev’s patron saint, looks over Independence Square.

kiev archangel mikhail

From somber to festive, the mood here varies.

maidan press center kiev ukraine

I was surprised at how large Maidan Nezalezhnosti actually is, about one square kilometer.

kiev maidan square kilometer

The Kiev City Hall has become the de facto headquarters for the Euromaidan demonstrators.

kiev city hall maidan

Inside Kiev’s City Hall.

kiev city hall inside

Prayers play outside, several times a day to larger weekend crowds.

Uncertainty is the predominant feeling uniting and flowing out of Independence Square.

kiev maidan cross memorial flowers

Tatars, a Turkic ethnic group numbering close to 245,000 in Crimea, protests its annexation by Russia.

tatar protest demonstration kiev maidan

On the left comparisons, on the right, foggy commemorations.

putin hitler kiev maidan fog

In front of tires, you see people leaving flowers, often with tears in their eyes.

kiev maidan flowers woman

Now, as the waiting game drags on, the movement shifts to the left, center, and increasingly far-right. For now, people wait…

RELATED
Targus' CityLite Pro Backpack Is A Great Bag With One Big Flaw

maidan black and white

…into the nights.

maidan statues kiev flags

Flowers are laid by people in Maidan almost constantly throughout the morning and afternoon hours.

maidan clock flowers

A tunnel of tires outline the recent front lines of Maidan.

maidan tires

A Few Of The Pictures I’ve Posted On My Instagram Feed

A service I’m using more often these days where I hope to find you as well.

maidan tires instagram maidan tires instagram kiev maidan instagram

kiev maidan targets kiev maidan graffiti kiev flowers maidan

Reality unmasked.

kiev maidan gas mask

Everyone in Maidan seems to be snapping a photo.

maidan people taking pictures

As you leave Maidan back into the rest of Kiev, life is strangely normal. There is almost no indication to be seen that just a few blocks away, cobblestones, flowers, and garbage form a defensive barrier for a movement which hasn’t ended. Over 100 demonstrators plus 16 police officers have been killed since the begining of Euromaidan in a situation that reminds me of traveling before and behind the protests in Bahrain.

I’ll have a lot more to write about Maidan, eastern Ukraine, and traveling in the country in the coming weeks but for some more insight, you can check out a recap of my live chat answering your questions on traveling in Kiev as Euromaidan continues.