Mychailo Wynnyckyj - Ukraines Maidan, Russias War

ibidem Press, Stuttgart

Contents

Many of the major trends of international politics in the twenty-first century are best seen from Ukraine. Understanding the Ukrainian revolution of 20132014, and the Russian invasion that followed, are absolutely essential to any informed discussion of the state of the world. This book, rich in chronology, evidence, scholarly analysis, and human insight, is a major step towards such an understanding. It should be widely read by those interested in Eastern Europe, the European Union, digital war, and the possibilities for new forms of politics.

Timothy D. Snyder, Richard C. Levin Professor of History, Yale University

Wynnyckyjs excellent book is a major contribution to the debate about the tumultuous events of 201314. It is even two books in one. The first provides the insights and detailed chronology of a well-grounded eyewitness that have been sorely missing in most accounts to date. The second adds an analytical perspective. Wynnyckyj argues that the Maidan was neither geopolitical, conspiratorial, or material; but ideational and a great, nation-building revolution, most like the American War of Independence, and an exemplar of heterarchical identities and mobilisations of broader relevance to all students of social change.

Andrew Wilson, Professor of Ukrainian Studies, UCL School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies

Mychailo Wynnyckyj's magnificent account of Ukraine's 2014 Revolution of Dignity easily surpasses every other book on the subject and sets a standard of excellence that will be hard to beat. Wynnyckyj brings to his analysis a unique combination of viewpoints. As a Ukrainian Canadian who has made Kyiv his home, he offers the perspective of native Ukrainians. As a participant in both Ukrainian uprisings, those of 2004 and of 2014, he offers an insider's view. And as a superb scholar well-versed in Western social science, he can place the events he witnessed and made into a theoretical context that explains just why Ukraine's 2014 upheaval was of world-historical importance. Get rid of all your other books on the Ukrainian Revolution, read Wynnyckyj, and get ready to be enlightened.

Alexander J. Motyl, Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University, Newark

Back in early 2014, hundreds of people regularly read, examined, and shared Mychailo Wynnyckyj's blogpost 'Thoughts from Kyiv'. For the concerned contemporaries, it was a priceless source of information a first-hand on the ground account of a truly historical drama, which opened with an inspirational and tragic EuroMaidan in Kyiv, proceeded with the Russian occupation of the Crimea, and culminated in the eastern bloodlands of Ukraines Donbas. By writing the Revolution of Dignity, the author allows todays reader to relive the tumultuous, heart-breaking, and emotional story of Ukraines Maidan and Russias war. Friends of Ukraine shall find here the reason for being optimistic. Ukraines foes shall learn about her indestructible spirit.

Vlad Mykhnenko, Associate Professor of Sustainable Urban Development, University of Oxford

During the Maidan demonstrations and their aftermath, I eagerly awaited Mychailo Wynnyckyjs blog updatesthey offered what engaged intellectuals can do best. He not only communicated the feel of revolutions possibility, and anxiety, but also helped us to appreciate the broader conditions and more general significance of this great transformation in Ukraine. With time to reflect, Wynnyckyj has lost neither of these great qualities, but in this book added another we so desperately need. He has written a text inscribing Ukraines place in a global history and political philosophy that moves dignity and hope to the center of our times narrative, even when war and violence surround. This volume, then, is not only for those aware of Ukraines importance. His agent-centered account also could guide those looking to develop their own knowledge activism suitable for shaping alternative futures in other parts of the world. Ukraine, and Wynnyckyj, inspire.

Michael D. Kennedy, Professor of Sociology and International Affairs, Brown University

Apparently, in November 1917, Lenin wrote that it was more pleasant and useful to go through the experience of revolution than to write about it. A century later, as I complete this book, I am convinced he was wrongin more than just this claim, but that is another matter. Experiencing the Maidan protests and Russias subsequent invasion of Ukraine first hand was both thrilling and inspiring but writing about these experiences on social media (and now in this book) was most pleasant and (I hope) useful as well. A word of thanks to all those who follow me on Facebook and read my occasional Thoughts from Kyiv. Your kind and critical remarks inspired me to write more.

Once things settled down in Kyiv, I was tempted to return to the daily routine of making a living through teaching and consulting. I am grateful to Lviv Business School (LvBS) of Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) for recognizing that this was not an acceptable option; that this book needed to be written, and that its author needed a fellowship grant to concentrate on the result.

This book would not have been possible without the loving encouragement of my family. During the height of the protests, my brother Roman (Moko) managed the email list through which Thoughts from Kyiv were delivered to a non-Facebook audience, and occasionally offered an outside-but-engaged Ukrainian diaspora perspective on events. My sister Oksana, Canadas Honorary Consul in western Ukraine, offered moral support, and an official perspective from Lviv. Our mother Iroida did what mothers do best: she worried, she encouraged, she loved (as always), and occasionally, she rebuked me for not having completed this book sooner. She took care of our father Ivan (John) in his illness, and occasionally reminded me of the books that he had always planned to write but was unable to complete in time.

But no one deserves my thanks, love, and appreciation more than my wife Marta. In addition to her patience and encouragement during the write-up phase, she emboldened me to spend time in Kyivs city-center throughout the protestsby supporting my (sometimes) nave desires to simply be there, and by ensuring my safety when my exuberance risked getting me in trouble.

Our childrenBohdan, Anastasia, Roksolyana, and Solomiadeserve thanks. Somehow, they understood during the Kyiv-phase of Maidan that their parents just had to be involved, and when the war became personal and close, they responded with inspirational expressions of resolve and wide-eyed patriotism. They patiently tolerated their fathers busy schedule and the time stolen from their lives as this text was being completed. I dedicate this book to them. In it theyll read how we tried to build the foundation for their futurealways with love and conviction.

May you cherish peace and prosperity, and always remember the sacrifice of those who made them possible.

Acknowlegments

Kimmel, Michael S. (1990) Revolution, a Sociological Interpretation. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, p. viii

Preface

Nothing has really happened until it has been described, goes by far the best-known quotation lifted from the writings of Virginia Woolf. Mychailo Wynnyckyj has taken up the task of ensuring that the Ukrainian Revolution, known as the Revolution of Dignity or EuroMaidan, has indeed taken place. An active participant in the Maidan protests of late 2013 and early 2014, he began describing them at first in real time through his insightful posts on Facebook and has continued to do so in this book, which combines an eyewitness account of events with the interpretation of a Western-educated social scientist.