168. Maidan Square - Kiev
Recent History
The Euromaidan protest movement began on 21 November 2013, as a peaceful protest
On 30 November 2013, the protests were dispersed violently by the Berkut riot police units, sparking riots the following day in Kiev. On 1 December 2013, protesters reoccupied the square
On 8th December 500,000 Pro European Ukrainians rallied in the square.
Between 21–22 January, 3 were killed during the Street riots. On 21 January, the first death occurred after a 22-year-old man was beaten by the police and thrown from atop the 13-metre high colonnade in front of Dynamo Stadium.The second death occurred at 6 a.m. on 22 January, where police shot and killed a protester climbing the barricades in the conflict zone. It was reported he received 4 gunshot wounds, including to the head, and died immediately. The third, a Belarusian man, was also shot dead by police.
Things got more sinister when activists who sought treatment at hospitals began 'disappearing'. Prominent Euromaidan activists Ihor Lutsenko and Yuriy Verbytsky were abducted by five unknown men on 21 January at 4 a.m. from Oleksandrivska Hospital in Kiev. Lutsenko was found beaten in the woods the next day, but Verbytsky was murdered; his body found on 22 January.
Between 18th – 23rd Feb: The most serious clashes took place at Mariinsky Park, on Hrushevskoho Street. At least 26 people were killed, including 10 policemen. A better timeline of events is available on Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Euromaidan
According to the Ukrainian Health Ministry, To date 121 People have been killed in the conflict, on and around the square – 104 Protesters, and 17 Police officers. 2,200 have been seriously injured, and over 300 abductees are still missing. Interfax Ukraine News agency claim over 780 are dead.
The Visit
So a day after promising my wife I wouldn’t go to the square, I was skirting round the barbed wire and tyre wall barricade that surrounds Maidan square.
The bar with the black and white sign behind the barricade is where I went for Pre-Birthday drinks on my last visit:
It was really hard for me as I’ve spent so much time here. I’ve spent over a month in Ukraine, and I’ve always stayed on the Maydan square when I’m in Kiev. This is where I usually stay, the Hotel Ukrainia:
A bit different from the Booking.com photo
I wanted to photograph the activist, but knew I’d have to ask them first. So I started off with this guy who didn’t look that intimidating. He happily obliged and posed for me.
Car:
Burning Bank:
The atmosphere was actually a lot better than the square looks visually. It was almost like a weird festival. I even saw one guy in a bulletproof vest, chilling in a paddling pool. The weirdest contrast I saw was when a girl dragged an upright piano to the middle of the square and proceeded to play the most beautiful Rachmaniniov against the backdrop of the still smouldering bank.
I did get the sense however that Kiev was preparing.
These improvised launchers were just on the street ready to go. You fill the tube from gas canisters located just behind the tyre wall, put in your cobble stone, then press the piezo hob lighter which acts as a trigger, and boom!
Courtesy ballistic vests on the street. If it all kicks off you can just grab one:
Courtesy shields:
Molotov cocktails, full and ready to go:
I finally plucked up the courage to ask this mean looking guy for a photo, and he agreed.
I almost feel like I’m in Pripyat:
This car had been hidden from public view, but I managed to a decent vantage point. There are two bullet holes through the windscreen right where the drivers head is:
Walking round the side of the Ukrainia, you come to the front line where the protesters were met with Police gunfire. It’s plain to see on the near by trees the direction of the gunfire, with neqat entry holes on the Police side, shattered splintered exit holes on the protesters side:
The same with the street furniture:
I looked at the Ukrainia, and worked out which room I stayed in on the night before my birthday. It was now peppered with bullet holes:
As I was taking photographs of the trees, a blind man hobbled upto the memorial of his brother who had been killed on a spot just feet away from me. He played a series of long notes on a trumpet, and the square fell silent. He turned and walked away, his white stick clacking on the cobbles. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life.
Finally I will leave you with a comparison shot of 2012 (left) and 2014 (right). It doesn’t match perfectly as I was in a slightly different place, and they were taken on my phone.
The Euromaidan protest movement began on 21 November 2013, as a peaceful protest
On 30 November 2013, the protests were dispersed violently by the Berkut riot police units, sparking riots the following day in Kiev. On 1 December 2013, protesters reoccupied the square
On 8th December 500,000 Pro European Ukrainians rallied in the square.
Between 21–22 January, 3 were killed during the Street riots. On 21 January, the first death occurred after a 22-year-old man was beaten by the police and thrown from atop the 13-metre high colonnade in front of Dynamo Stadium.The second death occurred at 6 a.m. on 22 January, where police shot and killed a protester climbing the barricades in the conflict zone. It was reported he received 4 gunshot wounds, including to the head, and died immediately. The third, a Belarusian man, was also shot dead by police.
Things got more sinister when activists who sought treatment at hospitals began 'disappearing'. Prominent Euromaidan activists Ihor Lutsenko and Yuriy Verbytsky were abducted by five unknown men on 21 January at 4 a.m. from Oleksandrivska Hospital in Kiev. Lutsenko was found beaten in the woods the next day, but Verbytsky was murdered; his body found on 22 January.
Between 18th – 23rd Feb: The most serious clashes took place at Mariinsky Park, on Hrushevskoho Street. At least 26 people were killed, including 10 policemen. A better timeline of events is available on Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Euromaidan
According to the Ukrainian Health Ministry, To date 121 People have been killed in the conflict, on and around the square – 104 Protesters, and 17 Police officers. 2,200 have been seriously injured, and over 300 abductees are still missing. Interfax Ukraine News agency claim over 780 are dead.
The Visit
So a day after promising my wife I wouldn’t go to the square, I was skirting round the barbed wire and tyre wall barricade that surrounds Maidan square.
The bar with the black and white sign behind the barricade is where I went for Pre-Birthday drinks on my last visit:
It was really hard for me as I’ve spent so much time here. I’ve spent over a month in Ukraine, and I’ve always stayed on the Maydan square when I’m in Kiev. This is where I usually stay, the Hotel Ukrainia:
A bit different from the Booking.com photo
I wanted to photograph the activist, but knew I’d have to ask them first. So I started off with this guy who didn’t look that intimidating. He happily obliged and posed for me.
Car:
Burning Bank:
The atmosphere was actually a lot better than the square looks visually. It was almost like a weird festival. I even saw one guy in a bulletproof vest, chilling in a paddling pool. The weirdest contrast I saw was when a girl dragged an upright piano to the middle of the square and proceeded to play the most beautiful Rachmaniniov against the backdrop of the still smouldering bank.
I did get the sense however that Kiev was preparing.
These improvised launchers were just on the street ready to go. You fill the tube from gas canisters located just behind the tyre wall, put in your cobble stone, then press the piezo hob lighter which acts as a trigger, and boom!
Courtesy ballistic vests on the street. If it all kicks off you can just grab one:
Courtesy shields:
Molotov cocktails, full and ready to go:
I finally plucked up the courage to ask this mean looking guy for a photo, and he agreed.
I almost feel like I’m in Pripyat:
This car had been hidden from public view, but I managed to a decent vantage point. There are two bullet holes through the windscreen right where the drivers head is:
Walking round the side of the Ukrainia, you come to the front line where the protesters were met with Police gunfire. It’s plain to see on the near by trees the direction of the gunfire, with neqat entry holes on the Police side, shattered splintered exit holes on the protesters side:
The same with the street furniture:
I looked at the Ukrainia, and worked out which room I stayed in on the night before my birthday. It was now peppered with bullet holes:
As I was taking photographs of the trees, a blind man hobbled upto the memorial of his brother who had been killed on a spot just feet away from me. He played a series of long notes on a trumpet, and the square fell silent. He turned and walked away, his white stick clacking on the cobbles. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life.
Finally I will leave you with a comparison shot of 2012 (left) and 2014 (right). It doesn’t match perfectly as I was in a slightly different place, and they were taken on my phone.
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