The
movement in Ukraine that began with the violence against student protests in
Kyiv in November 2013 has become known as the Maidan, or Euro-Maidan. Maidan,
meaning ‘square’ and specifically the Maidan Nezaleznosti in Kyiv, now
symbolises the mass movement of desperate sectors, interests and communities
that came together with the collective goal of voicing their opposition to the
regime and government led by Viktor Yanukovych. As the occupation in Maidan
continuined throughout the cold winter months—December, January, into
February—it became clear that the current governance of Ukraine could not
continue. Business could not proceed as usual.
The people promised not to
leave Maidan until Yanukovych left his office as the (corrupt) President of
Ukraine. What followed in the days of Feb. 18th – 21st is
no well documented history. Snipers open fired on people in Maidan, and three
days of violence left over 100 dead and over a thousand wounded. Yanukovych
fled to Russia and an interim government of opposition leaders and some key
figures from Maidan was set up. Yatsenyuk, the appointed acting Prime Minister,
in those early days after Feb 21st, stated many times that this was a
government of political (career) suicide. Tough times lay ahead.
These ‘tough times’ similarly have been well documented and continue: the
illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia, the seizure of Ukrainian military bases
and naval ships by masked armed unidentified groups, the forced ‘exile’ of
Crimean Tatar leaders from the Crimean peninsula. The rise of the separatist
movement in Donbass, the self-proclaimed ‘People’s Republic of Donetsk’ and
similarly that of Luhansk, led by psychopathic leaders publicly stating that
they will torture and ‘make an example of’ their pro-Ukrainian opposition. The
hostage-taking of OESC observers, the deaths, kidnappings, tortures, of
journalists, Maidan supporters, theatre directors, medical personnel and youth
throughout Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk. The fire in the trade union building in
Odessa. And the rise of the pro-Putin, armed separatist forces that wear the
black and orange St. George’s ribbon.**
Maidan a true revolution against the system? Or is the victory of Maidan represented through tomorrow's elections?
Elections
are a success for the international community. But Maidan, or social movements/revolutions,
outside the system (existing political, governance model), cannot be translated
into elections. Therefore, if you are against the
system, what do you do? Is the moment, the event of a revolution, which often comes with a price of human lives lost, the only actual way to step out of the system? And if so, this is rarely ever a long-term sustained position.
Petro Poroshenko is the leader in the polls favoured to be the next President of Ukraine. Is he against the system?
Clearly not -- he is a strategic businessman and is very much a part of ‘the system’. But he
may be the best option for Maidan-Ukraine. To make change at a political level,
you need representation. But will Poroshenko represent Maidan? Can any one
represent Maidan?
Perhaps
Maidan is everyone’s responsibility. Poroshenko and electoral politicals is not
the system, it is not politics. It is one system, and one politics, among many.
I have heard stories of changes in Ukraine. Real changes in interpersonal relations, as if a cloud has been lifted (and remarkably in spite of the ongoing war in the east of the country). For example, for the first time (and truly, for the first time--this is unprecedented) since March, the border
services in Ukraine are friendlier. They smile, ask which language to speak (whether Russian or Ukrainian is preferred), and genuinely welcome people into the country. What is their aim? Who are they 'working for'? Such skeptical questions may not be out of line, but nevertheless the reality is that persons in official positions of authority are friendlier--there is more public accountability.
This is Maidan. Indeed, everyone is Maidan. As much as we (us as 'observers' in countries around the world, as well as those in Ukraine), might want and look for a narrative and a leader, it is not to be found. Not in Maidan. The
people are not containable under a sovereign: or rather perhaps sovereignty can
only be understood as the people—as fragmented, incommensurable and disordinate
as ‘a people’ are.
But this does not mean anarchy or chaos. Undeniably during the months of December through February, and even into the present day, Maidan
has a structure (community health care, food distribution, self-defense and
security). But this structure is not a structure of national leadership. It is not a political structure, but rather it is at the level of
relationship and exchange. Maidan resists, revolts, against bureaucracy, Maidan is not geopolitics and therefore has not, and will not, produce a leader for the (fictitious) structure of the nation-state.
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** The black and orange ribbon has its origins in
the 18th century, when this ribbon was the highest military honour in
Imperial Russia. It has returned in Putin’s Russia as part of the Kremlin’s
glorification of the Great War (Second World War) and national unity,
Soviet-style. However the black and orange ribbon and the insignia seen on the
uniforms of pro-Russian separatists has even more stricking and recent
historical significance. During the second world war, Russian volunteer
formations sided with Germany against the Soviet Army. One of the first Russian volunteer
formations was RONA - Russian National Army of Liberation - which was organized
in the winter of 1941-1942 under the command of a Soviet captain called
Kaminski, who was promoted by the Germans to Major-General. There is much history to be explored here, however the main point is that groups of the Russian Cossacks, many of whom were not allied directly with the Soviet army, in fact allied with the Germans in the 1940s. Some of these groups had a strong hatred of the Soviet Union and had sympathy for the Nazi cause. Their insignia included the black and orange ribbon and a version of the swastika that is now recurring amongst some of the Pro-Russian separatists in Donbas.
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