On December 1, 7 years ago, a peaceful student action turned into a powerful revolutionary movement
It should be noted that the first calls for a peaceful action of students on the Maidan were about the European vector of the country, and later, when the protest gained momentum due to criminal actions of the authorities – the resignation of the leadership . After December 1, 2013, due to the brutal beating of students by Berkut, a peaceful action in support of the association with the EU turned into a mass protest. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the Maidan, some of them marched on Bankova Street to the Presidential Administration.
Light-noise and gas grenades were thrown at the protesters from behind the backs of the police, and cobblestones and Molotov cocktails flew in response. The protesters tried to break through the border with the help of a tractor.
After several hours of confrontation, Berkut went on the offensive. Those who fell were beaten with batons. There were no exceptions for journalists.
At that time, some politicians who later “played” on the feelings of the Maidan and “repainted” themselves as “populist revolutionaries” claimed that the assault on the Presidential Administration was organized by provocateurs. They repeatedly urged not to give in and not to let people into the border with the security forces. “Not provocateurs, but outraged youth,” said supporters of the Revolution of Dignity. They did not agree to withdraw from Bankova. “The day of the provocateur is an element of sarcasm of the fact that we were called provocateurs, and later they started calling us heroes,” said one of the participants in the events on the Maidan.