Euromaidan
Pro-European Union protests occurred in November and December 2013 in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), the central square of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine. The protests were called “Euromaidan” (or “EuroMaidan”), from “Euro” and “Maidan” (square). “Lutsehnko: The opposition is calling to unite for the ‘Euromaidan’ on 24th November at noon” was cited on Twitter on November 14, 2013.
”#euromaidan is back!!” was cited on Twitter on September 25, 2012, when it referred to a Ukrainian basketball team.
Wikipedia: Maidan Nezalezhnosti
Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Ukrainian: Майдан Незалежності, literally: Independence Square) is the central square of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine. One of the city’s main squares, it is located on Khreshchatyk Street in the Shevchenko Raion. The square has been known under many different names, but often it is called simply Maidan.
In the 19th century, the square contained buildings of the city council and noble assembly.
Etymology and names
“Maidan” literally translates from Ukrainian as square; coming from the Persian word “meydan”, meaning area or square, which in turn is a loanword from Arabic - (ميدان) Maydān or Maiadan. The square received its current name in 1991 in the aftermath of the Ukrainian accession to independence. Nezalezhnist (independence) commemorates the Ukrainian independence achieved in 1991 in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Euromaidan
The pro-European Union protests in Ukraine, dubbed Euromaidan (Ukrainian: Євромайдан or Єврореволюція Eurorevolution), began on the night of 21 November 2013, when Ukrainian citizens started spontaneous protests in the capital of Kiev. On the previous day, 21 November 2013, the Ukrainian government suspended preparations for signing an Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the European Union. The protests are ongoing despite a heavy police presence, and an increasing number of university students are joining the protests. Law enforcement agencies, namely Berkut (a special unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs), violently and without provocation attacked peacefully protesting students and journalists in the early morning of 30 November. The escalating violence from government forces has caused the level of protests to rise, with 350,000–1,600,000 protesters demonstrating in Kiev at the movement’s peak on December 1.
Twitter
Kostas Kaimakoglou
@Kaimakoglou
#euromaidan is back!!! http://www.euroleague.net/features/blog/2012-2013/ian-vougioukas/i/99833/7534 … @vouyouij
7:27 AM - 25 Sep 12
Twitter
Jacek Saryusz-Wolski
@JSaryuszWolski
Lutsehnko: The opposition is calling to unite for the “Euromaidan” on 24th November at noon.
http://blogs.pravda.com.ua/authors/lucenko/52845f87e59d2/ …
9:01 AM - 14 Nov 13
Twitter
Ziemowit Jóźwik
@ZiemowitJozwik
#euroMaidan #Maidan2 #Євромайдан in Kyiv. once again the heart of #Europe beats in #Ukraine. Don’t stay indifferent #EU #EaP
2:22 PM - 21 Nov 13
Twitter
Galina Fomenchenko
@GFomenchenko
Maidan in Kyiv is turned into Euromaidan! People are shouting: Yes to EU! Ukraine is Europe!
3:11 PM - 21 Nov 13
Twitter
Tanya Lokot
@tanyalokot
Echoes of Orange Revolution: Volunteers kick into action for EuroMaidan protests - @kyivpost http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/volunteers-who-run-euromaidan-332400.html … #euromaidan
6:34 PM - 24 Nov 13
KyivPost
Vox Populi: The Kyiv Post asked participants of today’s EuroMaidan rally how far they are willing to go to push for an association agreement with the EU
Nov. 24, 2013, 6:58 p.m. | Op-ed — by Anastasia Forina, Daryna Shevchenko
On Nov.24 the Kyiv Post asked participants of the Euromaidan rally in Kyiv how far they can go to persuade the authorities to change course and sign an association agreement with the European Union at the Vilnius Summit on Nov.28-29.
KyivPost
Echoes of Orange Revolution: Volunteers kick into action for EuroMaidan protests
Nov. 24, 2013, 11:20 p.m. | Ukraine — by Katya Gorchinskaya
(...)
Sobolev says that EuroMaidan volunteers will have a new activity to tend to as of Monday, Nov. 25. They will go to students in universities and out into the streets giving out leaflets and explain to people that it’s important to keep the momentum going - at least until the Eastern Partnership summit on Nov. 28-29, where Ukraine hoped to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union.
The nation’s government unexpectedly backed out of the deal on Nov. 21, citing pressure from Russia.
Associated Press—The Big Story
UKRAINE’S EUROMAIDAN: WHAT’S IN A NAME?
By JIM HEINTZ
— Dec. 2, 2013 4:48 AM EST
MOSCOW (AP) — Soon after the current wave of protests arose in Ukraine, a new word appeared to describe them: Euromaidan. Already in wide use as a hashtag on Twitter, it’s an intriguing invention — linguistically rooted in both East and West, elusive to translate and an insightful glimpse into the country’s troubled politics. Who coined it isn’t clear, and it’s become so popular that it seems almost to have sprung from the collective unconscious.
ITS ELEMENTS
The first part, “Euro,” is clear on the surface: Europe. “Maidan” is obscure to Western ears — it’s a word of Persian origin, which likely entered Ukraine via the Ottomans, meaning “square” or “open place.” However, translating it as “Europesquare” would be technically accurate but emotionally impoverished because both elements mean much more.
(...)
MAIDAN
In this usage, it refers to Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), the central plaza of Kiev. Reconstructed after the devastation of World War II, the approximately 8-acre square is a rare Stalin-era public space — neither bleak nor bullying, ringed by buildings tall enough to be impressive but not intimidating. The square’s agreeable nature echoes in how Kievans talk of it on a sort of first-name basis: “Let’s meet at Maidan.”
But as with Europe, Maidan is as much an idea as a place. The square was the focal point of the Orange Revolution, the 2004 mass daily protests that forced the annulment of a fraudulent presidential election. In that role, Maidan became a two-syllable encapsulation of peaceful resistance and determined action.