Monday 9 January 2017

Kiev's Makeshift Maidan Memorial

If you're in Kiev, chances are you'll pass through Independence Square, also known as Maidan. You can't miss the sprawling area, huge and centrally located. After the uprising in the winter of 2013, Maidan is now known for Ukraine's present struggles and is also a symbol for all struggles in Eastern Europe of former Soviet states defending their independence and rights.

The uprising has been given the identity "Euromaidan" and about 80 people died during the demonstrations. There isn't a permanent memorial to the dead. Instead, peppered along the square are makeshift, personal memorials and grim reminders of the recent, violent history.

The memorials are homemade - and looking at them knocks the wind out of you. Tires add atmosphere.


Pictures plastered, flowers placed.

Cross erected.


Lenin on his book and a dog toy. Memorial to a life lost too early.

Rubble as relic, a spot over the square from where cobblestones were thrown.

1 comment:

  1. watched netflix movie 'winter on fire' today re: ukraine struggles, coincidentally

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