Short film Revoliutsiia, Maidan Uprisings, 2013

Today we celebrate our freedom, it's Liberation Day in The Netherlands.

Nine years ago I was standing on Maidan Square in Kyiv. The people I spoke to were there because of the corruption and abuse of power by the government, the influence of oligarchs, the police brutality, and the violation of human rights in Ukraine.

'Freedoms' as we know them, are not self-evident.

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On 21 November 2013, the protests arose in response to President Viktor Yanukovych's sudden decision not to sign the Political Association and Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, while in February of that year the Ukrainian Parliament had overwhelmingly approved the EU deal. Instead, Yanukovych leaned towards closer ties with Russia, which pressured Ukraine to refuse the EU deal, and join the Eurasian Economic Union.

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This is a link to the short film (low-resolution quality) I made before the protests escalated, called; Revoliutsiia, Maidan Uprisings, Kyiv, Ukraine, 2013