The memory of the Heavenly Hundred is honored in Kyiv: Rubryka's photo report
Фото: Микола Тимченко
Kyiv hosted a memorial route to honor the first fallen Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred.
Following the city center's route to the most bloodshedding sites, the families of the fallen, activists remembered some of the most chilling events 10 years ago.
In January 2014, the first protesters, now known as the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred, were killed in the center of Kyiv.
- 20-year-old Serhii Nigoyan from the Dnipro region and 25-year-old Belarusian Mikhail Zhiznevsky received deathly injuries.
- Roman Senyk, a 45-year-old resident of Lviv, who was wounded that day, died a few days later in hospital.
- Yurii Verbytsky from Lviv resident was abducted and the next day found near Kyiv with signs of torture.
A few days later, Maidan activists Oleksandr Badera and Bohdan Kalyniak died.
During the Revolution of Dignity, Serhii Nigoyan was a member of the Third Hundred of the Maidan Self-Defense, whose members launched the commemoration in 2015.
Participants of the traditional annual march will light candles and lay flowers at the memorial plaques dedicated to fallen activists.
"We call on you to remember the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred and pay tribute to the first to die in the struggle for our independence and freedom," the organizers of the march said.
Rubryka's special reporter Mykola Tymchenko attended the event.
The Heavenly Hundred
The Day of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes was established on February 20 in honor of the fallen participants of the Revolution of Dignity in 2013-2014.
Seven years ago, this day was marked by the crucial events that determined the outcome of the revolution and forced President Viktor Yanukovych to flee. On February 20, 2014, 48 protesters gave their lives; 107 people are listed as Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred.
The name Heaven's Hundred arose by analogy with the main structural units of the Maidan – the hundreds. The media immediately began to actively use this expression; it appeared in official documents related to the events of the Revolution of Dignity.
In the same year, 2014, the Order of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes was founded; streets in dozens of Ukrainian cities were renamed in honor of the fallen.
The first Hero of the Heavenly Hundred, Pavlo Mazurenko, died on December 22, 2013. He was beaten to death in Kyiv by the regime-controlled police.
The last hero, Viktor Orlenko, died on June 3, 2015, from an injury he received on February 18, 2014,.
The youngest of the activists, Nazariy Voitovich, was 17 years old, the oldest, Ivan Nakonechny, was 82 years old.
On February 11, 2015, a decree was published by the President Petro Poroshenko. He declared February 20 the Day of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes "in order to perpetuate the great human, civil and national courage and dedication, strength of spirit and resilience of citizens, which changed the course of the history of our country."
