The February revolution

SMOULDERING fires, streets covered in soot, a smell of burned tyres; young men in military rags wandering around purposelessly. A heavy atmosphere of apprehension, anger and disbelief still sits on Independence Square, the gathering place in Kiev that has lent its name, Maidan, to the political protest movement born there, and thereby to the broader popular sentiment that supports it. Despite the toppling of Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovych, there is no sense of triumph among the quiet tears and loud words. But there is an abiding power.

That is why the country’s new cabinet presented itself for Maidan’s “approval” on the evening of February 26th. A crowd of tens of thousands heckled the mainstream politicians and cheered those—about a third—who were nominated from their own activist ranks. “Shame!” they shouted when Alexander Turchinov, the speaker of the parliament (Rada) and acting president, appeared on stage.