Ukraine honors memory of Heavenly Hundred heroes today
Photo: Mykola Tymchenko
On February 20, in accordance with the Presidential Decree of February 11, 2015, "On Honoring the Deed of the Participants of the Revolution of Dignity and Perpetuating the Memory of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred," Ukraine commemorates the Day of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred.
Rubryka reports this.
On this day 11 years ago, groundbreaking events took place that determined the outcome of the revolution and forced dictator President Viktor Yanukovych to flee.
Eleven years ago, mass shootings of Maidan protesters took place on Instytutska Street in Kyiv. On this day, 48 people died, who, together with thousands of other protesters, defended the European future of Ukraine.
It should be noted that on November 21, 2013, the Cabinet of Ministers, headed by the then Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, decided to suspend preparations for the conclusion of the Association and Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union. At the same time, the government led by ex-President Yanukovych continued to strengthen ties with Russia.
On the evening of the same day, several hundred Ukrainians peacefully protested in Independence Square in Kyiv. A few days later, on November 24, more than a hundred thousand supporters of European integration gathered on the capital's main street.
Almost immediately, special forces began to disperse the protesters: there were clashes near the Cabinet of Ministers building and an assault on a tent camp on European Square.
On November 29, Yanukovych finally refused to sign the Association Agreement with the EU, and the opposition began to demand the government's resignation and early elections.
On the night of November 30, fighters from the Berkut special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs brutally beat several hundred protesters near the Independence Monument. This ended Euromaidan and began the Revolution of Dignity.
The brutality of the security forces generated resistance, so on December 1, columns of 500,000 to a million people marched to Independence Square. The participants of the Revolution began to take control of state buildings and, at the same time, fight off the "Berkut."
On January 16, deputies adopted a package of "dictatorial" laws that significantly limited citizens' rights to protest. Outraged, the Revolution of Dignity participants went to the Verkhovna Rada. The then "police" used stun grenades, pump-action rifles, and water cannons against the Maidan protesters, who defended themselves with "Molotov cocktails" and metal shields.
The largest number of people died on February 20, 2014. Forty-eight protestors gave their lives.
From February 18 to 20, 78 people died on the Maidan, and after February 20, another 20.
There are 107 people on the lists of Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred – three women and 104 men.
On February 21, 2014, a farewell ceremony was held at Independence Square for the revolutionaries who had died the day before.
The solemnity of the ceremony inspired two Ukrainian poets, Liudmyla Maksymliuk and Tetiana Domashenko, to write poems that first introduced the phrase "heavenly hundred." Domashenko recited her verse from the Maidan stage.
Photo: Mykola Tymchenko
Photo: Mykola Tymchenko
Photo: Mykola Tymchenko
The term drew from the Maidan's primary organizational units—hundreds—and quickly gained traction in the media and official documents related to the events of the Revolution of Dignity.
In the same year, the Order of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred was founded; streets in dozens of Ukrainian cities were renamed in honor of the fallen.
A section of Instytutska Street in Kyiv, where a mass shooting of protesters took place on February 20, 2014, is now called the Alley of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred.
In November 2014, the title of Hero of Ukraine was awarded to 98 fallen participants in the revolution. The Heavenly Hundred now numbers 107 people, four of whom died in the Donbas in the early days of the Russian-inspired separatist uprising.
It is recognized that the death of the first Hero of the Heavenly Hundred, Pavlo Mazurenko, occurred on December 22, 2013. He was beaten to death in Kyiv by people dressed in what was then still a police uniform.
The last hero, Viktor Orlenko, died on June 3, 2015, from the consequences of the wound received on February 18, 2014, near the Trade Unions Building.
Photo: Facebook/Oleksii PanychAmong the heroes, the youngest was Nazarii Voytovych, aged 17, while the oldest was Ivan Nakonechny, aged 82.
On February 20, 2015, the Maidan held its first requiem action, "A Minute of Silence – Infinity of Memory". In the center of the capital, dozens of spotlights installed at the places where demonstrators died were simultaneously lit.
The 104 Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred were posthumously awarded the title of Heroes of Ukraine by the fifth President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko.
Three foreigners—Belarusian citizen Mykhailo Zhiznevsky and Georgians Zurab Khurtsia and David Kipiani—were posthumously awarded the Orders of Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred.
The memory of the Heavenly Hundred is honored in Kyiv: Rubryka's photo report
Anniversary of Maidan bloodshed: the memory of the Heavenly Hundred is honoured in Kyiv. PHOTO
Zelensky honors memory of Heroes of Heavenly Hundred
