Ukraine's Euromaidan

This book provides a critical survey of Ukraineâs 2013-14 Euromaidan Revolution â" the âRevolution of Dignityâ. Offering a considered analysis of the protest movement and the counter-protest movement, Ukraineâs Euromaidan explores both sides of a revolution that shaped not just Ukraine, but the world, as told by the participants themselves, including the author.

Drawing on a varied and complex source base, including thousands of archived videos, articles, personal memoirs, and social media posts, as well as numerous interviews and the authorâs own eyewitness observations of both sides of the barricades, the book examines the Euromaidan in Kyiv and Ukraineâs regions. It foregrounds the Euromaidanâs early marginalization of leftist voices, despite gaining international appeal and how activists and politicians failed to win concessions or mobilize broader masses of people. William Jay Risch shines a light on how escalating revolutionary violence badly weakened the state and pitted citizens against one another. Risch also reflects on the âRussian Springâ counter-protests that swept through Ukraineâs south and east, revealing the counter-protestersâ agency and revolutionary aspirations, as well as Russiaâs role in radicalizing them, in the process. With both sides dehumanizing each other and clashes between âpro-Russianâ and âpro-Ukrainianâ protesters often proving lethal, Risch compellingly contends that the Euromaidan Revolution ultimately exposed the limits of revolutionary change in todayâs world of contentious politics.