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<h1 class="" rel="bookmark" id="page-title">Ukraine's Euromaidan: What's in a name?</h1>
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<div class=""><div class=""><div class="">By JIM HEINTZ</div></div></div> — <span class="" title="2013-12-02T04:48:20-05:00">Dec. 2, 2013 4:48 AM EST</span> </div>
<h2 class=""><br></h2><div class=""> Ukraine's Euromaidan: What's in a name?</div>
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<div class=""><p>Ukrainian
protesters gather to march to Independence square in downtown Kiev,
Ukraine, on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013. Thousands are expected to march in
Kiev streets towards the Independence Square despite the fact that Kiev
district administrative court has banned any rallies on Independence
Square. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)</p></div> </div>
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<div class=""><p>A demonstrator
holds European Union flag during a protest in support of Ukraine's
integration with the European Union in the center of of Kiev, Ukraine,
Friday, Nov. 29, 2013. The European Union extended its geopolitical
reach eastward on Friday by sealing association agreements with Georgia
and Moldova, but blamed Russia for missing out on a landmark deal with
Ukraine. In center of the small flag in the foreground is a Crimean
Tatar symbol on the EU flag. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)</p></div> </div>
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<div class=""><p>Demonstrators
wave flags as they gather during a rally in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, on
Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013. As many as 100,000 demonstrators chased away
police to rally in the center of Ukraine's capital on Sunday, defying a
government ban on protests on Independence Square, in the biggest show
of anger over the president's refusal to sign an agreement with the
European Union. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)</p></div> </div>
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<p>MOSCOW
(AP) — Soon after the current wave of protests arose in Ukraine, a new
word appeared to describe them: Euromaidan. Already in wide use as a
hashtag on Twitter, it's an intriguing invention — linguistically rooted
in both East and West, elusive to translate and an insightful glimpse
into the country's troubled politics. Who coined it isn't clear, and
it's become so popular that it seems almost to have sprung from the
collective unconscious.</p>
<p>ITS ELEMENTS</p>
<p>The first part, "Euro," is clear on the surface: Europe. "Maidan" is
obscure to Western ears — it's a word of Persian origin, which likely
entered Ukraine via the Ottomans, meaning "square" or "open place."
However, translating it as "Europesquare" would be technically accurate
but emotionally impoverished because both elements mean much more.</p>
<p>EUROPE</p>
<p>Ukraine is part of Europe geographically, but for the demonstrators
and their supporters the concept of "Europe" has the resonance of a
vision, vivid and frustratingly out of reach. To them, Europe implies
genuine democracy, trustworthy police and sincere respect for human
rights.</p>
<p>MAIDAN</p>
<p>In this usage, it refers to Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence
Square), the central plaza of Kiev. Reconstructed after the devastation
of World War II, the approximately 8-acre square is a rare Stalin-era
public space — neither bleak nor bullying, ringed by buildings tall
enough to be impressive but not intimidating. The square's agreeable
nature echoes in how Kievans talk of it on a sort of first-name basis:
"Let's meet at Maidan."</p>
<p>But as with Europe, Maidan is as much an idea as a place. The square
was the focal point of the Orange Revolution, the 2004 mass daily
protests that forced the annulment of a fraudulent presidential
election. In that role, Maidan became a two-syllable encapsulation of
peaceful resistance and determined action. The symbolism is powerful
enough that Ukrainian media have taken to referring to all the current
demonstrations as Euromaidan, even if they take place on a "ploshcha,"
another word for square.</p>
<p>AMBIGUITY</p>
<p>However thrilling the 2004 protests were, the hopes attending to the
spirit of Maidan were largely unrealized. The leaders who came to power
after the demonstrations plunged into years of bitter quarreling, so
severe that the government was frequently paralyzed. In 2010,
disappointed Ukrainians chose Viktor Yanukovych as their president, the
very man who was the nominal winner of the annulled election in 2004.
The heroine of the Orange Revolution, Yulia Tymoshenko, was thrown into
prison after being convicted of abusing her power while prime minister.
In an ironic commentary, Oleksandra Shevchenko of the topless activist
group Femen produced a series of videos incorporating social commentary
and breast-flashing under the rubric of PMS — Post-Maidan Syndrome.</p>
<p>Euromaidan's ultimate meaning is yet to be fixed — whether it will come to mean achievement or failure.</p><p>via google.<br></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br>
<br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br>
<br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------
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