Far right participation in the Ukrainian Maidan protests: an attempt of systematic estimation

Ukrainian Euromaidan protest: Dynamics, causes, and aftermath

“…While most studies are focused on the Maidan of Kyiv, relatively few concentrate on the developments in specific cities (Kuhutyak, ; Shebelist, ; Yaremchuk, ) or Ukraine's regions through analysis of claims (Zelinska, ) or protest performances (Ishchenko, ). Information on the protests in Ukraine's regions remains largely dispersed among local media sources.…”

“…Scholars seem to agree at least on the starting point of the Maidan movement, November 21, 2013, the day of the announced “pause” in relations with the EU, but they dispute its ending point, which, depending on the applied definition, might not yet have happened. The majority of researchers agree that Euromaidan lasted for 3 months—from November 21 until February 21, 2014, the final day of mobilization, followed by the crisis (Ishchenko, ; Onuch, , p. 34), or February 22, 2014, when president Yanukovych fled the country (Sviatnenko & Vinogradov, ; Zolkina, ; Tkachuk, ). Alternatively, Kyrydon (, p. 29) suggests that Euromaidan started on November 21, 2013, and ended on September 16, 2014, when the final ratification of the EU‐Ukraine Association Agreement took place.…”

“…Considering the nationalists performed in the elections quite modestly, Shekhovtsov and Umland () are among those who stress that neither the opposition party “Freedom” ( Svoboda ) nor the newly formed group “Right Sector” ( Pravyy Sector ) played a crucial role in the protests or their aftermath. To the contrary, based on analysis of protest events data, Ishchenko () concludes that the far right were the most active collective actors at Maidan both in Kyiv and Ukraine's regions. Still, others report dominance of nationalist rhetoric and symbols on Maidan, along with silencing of and discrimination against other groups (e.g., the leftist activists; Carroll, ; Ryabchuk, ; Bohachenko‐Mishevskyy, ).…”

“…The violence of late January diffused to the regions, where angry crowds seized the buildings of the power‐holders, the provincial administrations, and the local governments, which had previously introduced repression. Based on the protest events count, Ishchenko () estimates that 9% of Maidan protests countrywide were violent . Gomza (, p. 59) argues that tactical innovation with violent methods turned out to be very effective, shocking the elites and undoing their cohesion.…”

The far right, the Euromaidan, and the Maidan massacre in Ukraine

“…Some other studies on the far right reached different conclusions. A quantitative research on the mass protest actions revealed that Svoboda party was the most active organization in pro‐Maidan protests, while the Right Sector was the most active organization in violent events in Ukraine during the Euromaidan (Ishchenko, ). Other studies concluded that the far right played a key role in the attacks of the parliament in January and on February 18, 2014 and in seizures of regional administrations in Western and Central Ukraine during the Euromaidan (Katchanovski, , Kudelia, ).…”