Ucrainica Marginalis published an overview of the four largest misconceptions about #Euromaidan, written by scholars Sofiya Grachova & Stephen A. Walsh. What this overview points out is the vast gap between how international media and outside spectators view what is happening and the message that Ukrainians involved in Euromaidan protests are trying to get across to their government and the world.
Listed as the largest misconceptions are:
Misconception #1: Ukraine is divided between east and west.
Misconception #2: Ukrainian protests are about joining the EU.
Misconception #3: Protest forces in Ukraine are dominated by the far right.
Misconception #4: The protests should cease immediately and give way to negotiations between the regime and the leaders of opposition political parties.
3 comments
Thanks for sharing this list. I’m a bit fuzzy on “misconception four.” The sentence is a prescription—it turns on the word “should”—so how can calling for the protests’ end be a “misconception”? *Shouldn’t* people free to decide for themselves what protestors ought to do next?
The first claim is also curious (implying that “Ukraine is not divided”). What is the reasoning for saying that? Surely Grachova and Walsh do not believe that Ukrainians have arrived at some perfect consensus regarding the demonstrations?
Tetyana or any GV readers, I’d be interested to know your thoughts on this subject.
Kevin, I think what #4 means is that people are of the opinion that the protests are an obstacle to negotiations. That the issue will be resolved if the protestors would just go home and let their leadership and the government negotiate. That is far from the truth, as we know if the protestors left, they would have no leverage at all against the government.
As far as #1, the misconception people have is there’s this clear line that can demarcate east from west, a near 50/50 split. That doesn’t exist. Ethnic Russians make up only one sixth of the population, and not all of them want close ties to Russia. It’s comparable to believing that every person living in a red or blue state is Republican or Democrat. The population is not that homgeneous.