Between Russia and the EU : lessons from the orange revolution in Ukraine

Abstract

Tunisian and Egyptian people have succeeded with non-violent uprisings and regime change. But where will revolutions lead these two countries? Seven years ago, a similar peaceful revolution took place in Ukraine – ‘the Orange Revolution’- when for more than two weeks, beginning on the 22 November 2004, Ukraine was in the spotlight of international attention. Previously, the post-Soviet space was viewed by many policy-makers as a sphere of Russian influence, where post-Soviet, anti-Western political culture dominates and prevents movement to Europe based on democratic values. However, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians stood in freezing winter temperatures at Kyiv's central square - Maidan - displaying the fascinating people’s collective power. It prevented authoritarian Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma from bringing to office his chosen candidate and, in this way, to repeat the “Yeltsin–Putin scenario”. The revolution was non-violent, its participants demonstrated a high level of inter-ethnic and inter-confessional tolerance; hence, its importance as an example for divided societies. Many democratic movements made a reference to the Orange Revolution: from Belarus to Kenya, and from Taiwan to the 2005 Cedar Revolution in Lebanon.