Euromaidan — The Revolution of Dignity, Not a 'Nazi Coup'

What Is This Myth About?

The Kremlin consistently calls the events in Kyiv in 2013–2014 an “unconstitutional coup d’etat” carried out by “neo-Nazis with Western backing.” This narrative serves to:

• Justify the annexation of Crimea (“protection from Nazis”)
• Justify aggression in the Donbas (“uprising against the coup”)
• Delegitimize all subsequent Ukrainian governments

This myth is a lie from start to finish.

Timeline of Events

The Cause: Rejection of European Integration

November 21, 2013 — President Yanukovych abruptly refused to sign the Association Agreement with the EU, negotiations on which had been ongoing for years. This occurred after a secret meeting with Putin and Russia’s promise to provide a $15 billion credit and reduce gas prices.

The EU agreement was supported by the majority of the population (according to various polls, 45–58% for European integration versus 20–30% for the Customs Union). Yanukovych’s rejection of European integration was a betrayal of the people’s will.

Peaceful Protest (November 21 – November 29)

That same night, journalist Mustafa Nayyem posted on Facebook: “Who is ready to go to the Maidan by 10:30 PM?” Thousands of people answered the call.

The first days of the Euromaidan were entirely peaceful: students, activists, and ordinary Kyivans stood with EU flags demanding the continuation of European integration. The atmosphere on the Maidan was festive.

The Turning Point: The Beating of Students (November 30)

At 4 AM on November 30, 2013, the Berkut (a special police unit) brutally dispersed the peaceful student protest on the Maidan. They beat young people, both men and women aged 18–20, with batons to the head. Video of the beatings spread across the internet within minutes.

This changed everything. The next day, not thousands but hundreds of thousands came to the Maidan — driven less by European integration than by outrage at the regime’s brutality. The mass protest became the Revolution of Dignity.

On December 1, 2013, between 500,000 and 800,000 people came to the Maidan — the largest protest in Ukraine’s history.

Escalation (December 2013 – January 2014)

• December 11 — nighttime assault on barricades by the Berkut, repelled by protesters
• January 16, 2014 — the Verkhovna Rada (under the control of the Party of Regions) passed “dictatorship laws” banning peaceful assembly, independent media, and NGO activities
• January 19 — first clashes on Hrushevsky Street. Water cannons used at -15°C
• January 22 — first deaths: Serhiy Nihoyan (shot), Mikhail Zhiznevsky (shot)

The “Dictatorship Laws” of January 16

These laws, passed with gross procedural violations (voting by show of hands, without counting), would have turned Ukraine into a police state:

• Ban on wearing helmets and masks (fine or arrest)
• Criminal liability for tent camps
• Ban on “extremist activity” (wording that allowed the persecution of anyone)
• Restrictions on press freedom and the internet
• Simplified procedure for stripping parliamentary immunity

Even pro-Russian analysts acknowledged that these laws copied Russia’s repressive legislation.

The Heavenly Hundred (February 18–20, 2014)

The most tragic days of the Euromaidan:

• February 18 — the Berkut and internal troops launched a massive assault on the Maidan. 26 people were killed
• February 19 — fighting continued all day
• February 20 — snipers opened fire on protesters on Instytutska Street. On that single day, over 50 people were killed — most were shot by snipers in the head and chest

In total, over 100 protesters were killed during the Revolution of Dignity — they are called the “Heavenly Hundred.” Among the dead were people of various ages (from 17 to 83), professions, from different regions of Ukraine, and of different nationalities (Ukrainians, Belarusians, Armenians, Georgians).

Yanukovych’s Flight (February 21–22)

• February 21 — with mediation from the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and Poland, an Agreement on the Settlement of the Crisis was signed. Yanukovych agreed to early elections and a return to the 2004 Constitution. Russia refused to sign the agreement
• That same night, Yanukovych secretly fled Kyiv, taking valuables and documents
• February 22 — the Verkhovna Rada voted to remove Yanukovych (328 votes out of 450 — 73%) for abandoning his duties
• Yanukovych fled to Russia, where he remains to this day

Debunking the “Coup”

The Verkhovna Rada Vote

The decision to remove Yanukovych was made by 328 deputies — including a significant portion of his own Party of Regions. This was:

• A constitutional majority (300 votes = 2/3)
• A decision by parliament, not by a “gang of Nazis”
• Supported by deputies from all regions and parties

The Venice Commission

The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe concluded that while the procedure for removing Yanukovych was not ideal from a constitutional standpoint, it was an understandable response to an extraordinary situation: the president had left the country, refused to fulfill his duties, and his security forces had opened fire on citizens.

The Commission noted that the subsequent elections (May 25, 2014) legitimized the new government through democratic means.

”Nazis” on the Maidan

Far-right organizations (notably Right Sector) were indeed present on the Maidan. However:

• They constituted an insignificant minority among the hundreds of thousands of protesters
• Sociological research (KIIS, Deminitsiatyvy Foundation) showed that the majority of participants were ordinary middle-class citizens
• In the subsequent elections, Right Sector received 1.80% of the vote — confirming their marginality
• Among the fallen Heavenly Hundred were representatives of different ethnic groups: Ukrainians, Armenians, Belarusians, Georgians

Who Was Shooting?

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office established that the shooting of protesters on Instytutska was carried out by Berkut officers from territory controlled by Yanukovych’s government. Some Berkut members were arrested and put on trial (though some fled to Russia).

Consequences

For Ukraine

• Presidential elections on May 25, 2014 — Petro Poroshenko elected in the first round (54.7%)
• Signing of the EU Association Agreement (June 27, 2014)
• Beginning of reforms: decentralization, anti-corruption bodies (NABU, NAZK), police reform, army reform, healthcare reform
• Visa-free regime with the EU (2017)
• Application for EU membership (2022), candidate status granted

Russia’s Reaction

• Annexation of Crimea (March 2014) — under the pretext of “protection” from “Nazis”
• Hybrid aggression in the Donbas (April 2014) — under the pretext of an “uprising” against the “coup”
• Full-scale invasion (February 24, 2022) — the culmination

The Revolution of Dignity was not a “coup.” It was the choice of millions of Ukrainians in favor of freedom, dignity, and a European future. The price of that choice has been over a hundred lives on the Maidan and tens of thousands of lives in the war that Russia unleashed to punish Ukraine for making that choice.