Aleksandr Buzgalin travelled to Kiev in early December and wrote up this observations shortly afterwards/ Kiev greets you with a huge expanse of orange, the colour of the opposition; there are orange scarves and caps, ribbons on bags and sleeves, flags on vehicles (from fashionable SUVs to ancient Zhiguli sedans).
Small business outlets are selling orangecoloured goods (German and Ukrainian fascist uniforms together with Soviet military dress and cavalry jackets - the mixture made me sick).
Quite by chance, the first person I talked to was a thirty-year-old maintenance fitter from the Donetsk Metal-Rolling Combine. I encountered quite a few comrades from Donetsk, supposedly a region one hundred percent behind Yanukovich.
When I asked what had brought him to the square, this worker replied,
"We don't trust the old pack of thieves, who openly lied to us. We want real changes, a human existence, reasonable wages. And an end to the appalling poverty."
When I enquired whether Yushchenko might square." intertwined with criminal gangs." trick them, the reply was straight to the point: "I he tries to fool us, we'll come back to the
Next came a detailed discussion with a business entrepreneur who had spent many days in the tent city. Many were later to repeat his views:
"We didn't come here to get anything in particular. We came here to be able to live like human beings, to be able to choose the president we want, not the one the authorities impose on us. We're sick of living by the dictates of a regime
There were conversations with students from Kiev and Chernigov, with unemployed people from Vinnitsa, and with a number of prosperouslooking men who worked in marketing and computer technology.
Practically all of them voiced the same thought: "We want an honest government that expresses our interests."
Most of them trusted Yushchenko, but the comments of some were much more harsh:
*The Square has woken people up. We don't believe any more in a "good tsar", and we'll do for ourselves what we think is needed. If Yushchenko won't do what we want, we'll get rid of him too!"
Different people and different views. Most did not hold to any clear political or socio-economic positions.
Most wanted both to have "honest" business and definite guarantees of social welfare. As a rule these people could not formulate clear views on what future they wanted for Ukraine, but they were unanimous in wanting a government that was honest and under popular control.
Most of them had confidence in Yushchenko. Some understood that behind Yushchenko there see this as the main thing. happening in their country. onlookers. With orange armbands. and to socialise. scholarly senses. were also oligarchs ("And how could he do without them?" was a typical attitude), but did not
Virtually all of them felt a stake in what was
They smiled wearily when asked whether anyone was paying them money; obviously tired of answering "No!" to the queries of curious
Most of those on the square were tired and cold, but they were full of enthusiasm. Meanwhile, standing about next to the tent city were numerous unkempt-looking young people
Such was the tent city. The people had come to say a serious, heartfelt "no" to the regime. Also on the square there were also people, who had simply come to charge themselves with energy, to dance (concerts and discotheques were constantly underway, alternating with the meetings),
Outward impressions can be deceptive, but they nevertheless convey the mood and tone of events. This tone was optimistic: enthusiasm and a carnival atmosphere in both the everyday and