РНБОУ National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine

The Day of Dignity

On this day two years ago Ukraine began the difficult path to purification. It seems that for this time not two years have passed but more than ten.

When in November 2013 we came out to "Maidan", nobody even hoped that it would lead to such revolutionary changes. Everybody just had a feeling that the right things were happening then, that we couldn't back down, that we have only one Ukraine and only together, having united, we would be able to save it.

Then we succeeded. But that was only the first step, because then there was a war, aggression against our country and we have to not only overcome it but to provide large-scale changes and economic revival of Ukraine as a democratic European state.

Today, unfortunately, there is much speculation about the greatness of "Maidan". Some people allow themselves the attempts to convert hours or minutes spent there in some kind of political capital, some dispute on who did more and who did less for the victory of the Revolution of Dignity. These speculations and disputes emasculate the essence of "Maidan" and indicate the baseness of people who refer to the Revolution of Dignity as to a bargaining chip.

It is impossible to measure, who did more for "Maidan". Everyone there did as much as one could, as much as one's conscience prompted. Period! Everyone who was there, made a contribution, small or large, but without this contribution "Maidan" would not has happened. The only people, who did more than anyone else, who then gave away everything without residue, are Heroes of the "Heavenly hundred". And quarrels around "Maidan" only diminish their sacrifice, so let us be worthy of their memory and their feat. May the memory of them live forever...

Every anniversary is a moment of truth, a moment of summarization, but it is just an intermediate point, because it's impossible to definitively draw a line under the life, because changes are a process. This is a process that should begin, first of all, inside every Ukrainian. Bit by bit, despite the pushback, the changes are happening within us and in the country. We still have a long way to go before the final victory, but as by then, we have only one Ukraine and there is no way back.

Congratulations! Best wishes on the Day of Dignity!