Roger Annis: Can you describe the origin of the "Maidan" protest movement that arose last year in central and western Ukraine? What was its social base and program?
Daniel Grigor'ev: To begin with, the so-called Maidan movement isn't something untypical for Ukrainian politics. You see, unlike some other post-Soviet countries (including Russia), the Ukrainian bourgeoisie found itself unable to promote any kind of stable, governing agreements. Instead, we see a number of business clans who are constantly fighting with each other in an effort to get the biggest share of national wealth. That's why protests, demonstrations, intense debates and more or less democratic procedures are common there, though it may be very misleading for someone who hasn't yet analyzed the nature of the newborn, post-USSR countries.
When it comes to the social base, I think it would be accurate to distinguish two main categories. The first would be mainly Kiev's "middle class" (which isn't a middle class in a European understanding, but a relatively small and extremely privileged group). Apart from considering all the Maidan events as some kind of adventure (or a perfect place to take some selfies), those people provided a number of demands, which say a lot about their viewpoint. For example, we heard about "European choice," "joining the Western world," "becoming a part of civilization" and so on. Those claims seem rather peculiar, given the fact that no one invited Ukraine to become a part of the European Union.
