VICTORY FOR
MAIDAN PROTESTS?
THE TAKING OF UKRAINIAN HOUSE
by
Michael Hammerschlag
SCOOP
Jan 29
All pics Michael
Hammerschlag©2014
People crowding smashed windows Ukrainian House
(Ukrainsky Dom) 3:18am Jan 26
In an incredible display of fortitude, courage, and reckless
stupidity; protesters seized the Ukrainian House Museum
+ Exhibition Center at 3:50am Saturday night (formerly Lenin Museum).. their 4th downtown building (by Monday they had
6). There was a frigid 6 hour very tense standoff with MVD Interior Ministry
troops guarding it only 5M inside the shattered windows Saturday night, Jan
25-6. At about 1 am 300 protesters were crowded around the shattered windows
chanting, threatening, exhorting the soldiers to get out, when in a terrifying
moment, laser gunsight red dots appeared on them,
roving around preparatory to a lethal barrage. Several of the crowd screamed at
them to get back, but they acted utterly oblivious to the mortal danger, even
escalating the situation 3 minutes later when they threw in big firecrackers
(M80’s) that exploded at the feet of the soldiers. I thought I would see I lot
of people shot then, like happened in the Communist attack on Ostankino TV Center in Moscow in 1993
when 2000 heedless attackers drove a truck through the plate-glass windows and
25 Yeltsin troops inside mowed down the first rows in a volley of gunfire
(officially 62 died there). Miraculously the IM troops held fire. Studying my
video later, the laser dots apparently came from outside, laser pointers recklessly waved
around by protesters or provocateurs, something that could convince jumpy young
troops that they were being
targeted.
Vitaliy Klitschko on pitch dark, wet stairs
inside UkrDom 4:04am Jan 26 after
protesters poured in at 3:50am Jan
26


At 3am
Vitaly Klitschko went in, yanked from some celebratory
party, and negotiated with the police, persuading them to retreat, which they
did through a long gauntlet of protesters. Again at 3:50am when the crowd
started pouring through the shattered windows, I thought they would be cut down,
but the troops had already retreated and Klitschko may have given them the
signal. He was running back in forth wildly in the wet pitch black interior at
first, but within 10 minutes the lights were
on,
protesters had penetrated to the top floor and within 60 minutes had started
repairing the windows with sheets of wood. Protesters were forcibly
ushed off the top floor (which had piles of sandwiches,
lemons, cold tea; presumably from the MVD people), “Valuable exhibits are here”,
and people collapsed catatonic on
a
second fl. theater after the 6-7 hour
-16C bitter exposure.
Line of frightened Interior Ministry troops 5m behind shattered
façade UkrDom 3:20am Jan 26; Shortly after, they fled out the back, convinced by
Klitschko in an hour of negotiation that I believe saved
lives

I’m convinced Klitschko’s
intercession likely saved lives, had the protesters continued their aggressive
actions and IM troops reacted badly in fear or rage. It was a point of great
importance in a momentous day that has seen the beginning of the end of this
Marathon protest of courage and madness,
heroism and recklessness, fearlessness and foolhardiness. Saturday Yanukovich cracked, offering enormous
concessions that seemed unbelievable a day before, Prime Minister to Arseniuk, Dep. PM to
Klitschko, return to weaker President
Constitution, reform of Election Commission in 3 hours of negotiation- a
deal they seemingly must take (though they’ve said “No”), because major
bloodshed is close, the barrier having been broken with the killing of 6
protesters (and disappearance of 7 more, 3 from Nov 30th police
attack, likely dead, inc. an MP), kidnapping of 2, 40-50 jailed, usually after
savage beatings. Police have been spectacularly stoic, but have seen their
comrades smashed by paving stones, burned by 2000 Molotov Cocktails, wounded by
iron bars (1 dead)- many want to kill protesters. Indeed in any other country in
the world (inc. America) many protesters would have
been shot by
now. Molotov Cocktail 4M from Ukr Dom "Now that's an argument", said
holder
But
Ukraine is different: like the
long-abused populace, the police have an extraordinary tolerance and patience
with abuse. There is a certain social compact between the people of
Ukraine, born out of unimaginable
horror and death, the murder of millions 4 times over 36 years by the
Bolsheviks/Stalinists/Nazis/Soviets. It is a bond that doesn’t exist anywhere in
the world, that causes a universal allergic reaction to police attacks on the
people, that let’s the citizens shame the police into giving up, that lets
hundreds of thousands work in the Occupation together like a finely oiled Swiss
watch, that lets tens of thousands endure epic cold, hardship, misery for a
cause- the desire to live like normal
people.. with dignity.
Violent protester hurling paving stone at police behind burning bus
blockade 11:46pm Jan 19, Hrushevskogo St., Kiev
That has inspired the
world. I thought this was crazy, foolish, totally lost, 3 or more times. But
when Ukrainians have had enough they are absolutely relentless, and the
indomitable perseverance of this Protest has born fruit after an incredible 9
week Marathon of resistance against a criminal government and Party that spits
on any pretense of Democracy (passing insane repressive “laws” with a faked hand
vote of 235, 235, 235, when there were only 204 POR coalition members present-
far short of a 225 vote
majority, votes that would
criminalize half the population and every
journalist).
collapsed brothers at arms- Ukr Dom Jan 27 midnight
-
They battled and endured bitter cold (-25C today, -32 wind
chill), snow, ice, 4 mass police attacks, savage beatings, targeted attacks on
the Press (biggest in history with 60 sent to the hospital), kidnappings and
murders, snipers, threats and attacks by thousands of paid goons, electricity
and heat shutoffs, sleeplessness from the nonstop blaring Maidan stage, and
chronic boredom as they waited and waited and waited for a day that probably
would never come. Reporters too suffered vicious police beatings, tear gas,
explosions, rubber bullets; working 36-48 hour days (me 10 times), processing
the torrent of info, photos, videos, pics of the vast
city within the city that was Maidan. Ukraine can be a difficult abusive
place, but I have never ever seen the level of brotherhood, generosity, and
trust I witnessed in these epic protests- the unlimited free food, clothes,
lodging, support, friendship.
Protesters said
many times to me, “We are prepared to die for this”, and I
thought, ‘Sure,
until the first dozen are cut down’. But they were, and they
did, and though the scale isn’t exact (and every agreement is subject to
revision and reneging) ….. I think
THEY WON ! PM Azarov and his government resigned Tuesday, and the RADA rescinded
most of the repressive laws.
- 500,000 protesters fill Kiev
Dec 1 - not mine
When I talk to friends in America, they will often say, “Are you still in
Russia”, and I repeat again
for the 4th or 6th time, “Ukraine is a
COUNTRY- it’s been a country for 22 years”. Vladimir Putin doesn’t think so, and
his thuggish pressure and Yanukovich’s weakness,
corruption, and treachery have provoked this crisis. But
Ukraine… IS …. a… Country.
The whole world knows where Ukraine is
today. And what it is. And they stand in awe at their courage and endurance.
Michael Hammerschlag's articles (HAMMERNEWS.com) have appeared in NYT, IHT,
Seattle Times, Providence Journal, Columbia Journalism Review, Hawaii
Advertiser, Capital Times, MediaChannel; Moscow
News, Tribune, Times, and Guardian, Novaya Gazeta;
Kyiv Post & Weekly, Politics in Ukraine, and Business Ukraine.
He's spent 8 years over the last 22 in Russia & Ukraine,
and has covered this story
since Nov 3rd.
PHOTOS: On http://hammernews.blogspot.com FULL STORY from Nov 1
1186
People crowding smashed windows Ukrainian House (Ukrainsky Dom)
1191
“This is an argument” said holder of this Molotov 4M
from the Ukr Dom windows, as I pleaded with him to not
use it (Klitschko was inside)
1193 Line of frightened Interior
Ministry troops 5m behind shattered façade UkrDom
3:20am Jan 26; Shortly after, they retired through a gauntlet of protesters,
convinced by Klitschko
1199
CU protesters at the windows 3:28am
1204
Vitaliy Klitschko on pitch
dark, wet stairs inside UkrDom 4:04am Jan 26
1205
“
“
v. exc.
1211
1215 Repair of Smashed windows from inside (wide + cu
respectively)