Today Ukraine celebrates the Day of Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred
Kyiv • UNN
February 20 marks the Day of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes, when 48 protesters were killed in the center of Kyiv. In total, 107 Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred gave their lives for democratic values and the European future of Ukraine.
Today, February 20, is the Day of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes. On this day, the largest number of people died during the protests in Kyiv - 48. The memory of the Heavenly Hundred is honored under the slogan “Grateful for freedom!”, UNN reports .
On February 20, 2014, the largest number of people died in the center of the Ukrainian capital - 48. They, along with 54 other killed and fatally wounded participants in peaceful protests during the winter of 2013-2014 and five Maidan activists who died in the spring of 2014 defending democratic values and the territorial integrity of Ukraine, were called the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred.
The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory emphasizes that the events of that day were the culmination of the Revolution of Dignity. A very high price was paid for not returning to the post-Soviet model of relations between the government and society, for rejecting “multi-vectorism” in foreign policy, and for establishing Ukraine's development as a democratic European country - human lives.
To honor the memory of the citizens who died during the Revolution of Dignity in the struggle for the ideals of democracy, human rights and freedoms, and the European future of Ukraine, thanks to whom the course of our country's history was changed, the Day of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes was established.
The memory of the Heavenly Hundred is commemorated under the slogan “Grateful for Freedom!”
Freedom is a fundamental characteristic of human existence; it is the ability to make free choices and to realize one's own responsibility for those choices. The heroes of the Heavenly Hundred made their choice to fight for freedom and dignity, sacrificing their lives for it. They died for Ukraine to develop as a free and democratic state.
The Heavenly Hundred Heroes Day is intended to immortalize the human, civic and national courage and dedication, strength of spirit and resilience of citizens who changed the course of our country's history, and to honor the feat of those who died for the ideals of democracy, human rights and freedoms, and the European future of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance notes that this is a day of mourning because it is associated with the deaths of citizens during the Revolution of Dignity and at the beginning of Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine, but it is not meant to honor death, but the struggle for a decent and free life, sacrifice and courage.
The Revolution of Dignity was a massive civil protest that lasted 94 days, from November 21, 2013 to February 22, 2014. It was caused by a sharp change in the foreign policy course and vector of the state's development, and later by the unconstitutional actions of the authorities. The center of the events was the capital's Independence Square and the surrounding streets: Khreshchatyk, Mykhailo Hrushevskoho, and Instytutska streets. The peaceful actions began under the slogans of European integration, but later turned into a long campaign of civil disobedience against the regime of President Viktor Yanukovych, against corruption and human rights violations. The government's actions aimed at suppressing the protests by force led to an escalation of the conflict and human casualties.
The activists who died during the confrontations in December 2013 - February 2014 were called the Heavenly Hundred. Later, the ranks of the Heavenly Hundred were joined by Ukrainian patriots, participants of the Revolution of Dignity, who died defending democratic values and the territorial integrity of Ukraine in the spring of 2014.
The significance of the Revolution of Dignity. The overthrow of the Yanukovych regime, which had sharply increased the level of corruption and promoted a pro-Russian vector of development, made it possible to resume the course towards European integration and sign the Association Agreement with the EU. The citizens of Ukraine have clearly demonstrated their readiness to defend state independence and democratic freedoms. Other important results of the Revolution of Dignity include the beginning of reforms in various spheres of the country's life, self-organization of civil society, development of the volunteer movement, decentralization, decommunization, and partial renewal of the Ukrainian political elite.
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The Heavenly Hundred
Origin of the name. The Heavenly Hundred are 107 deceased participants of the Revolution of Dignity, as well as Maidan activists who died in the spring of 2014 with the beginning of Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine.
The name “Heavenly Hundred” arose by analogy with the main structural units of the Maidan Self-Defense - the hundreds. It first appeared during the farewell to the dead on the capital's Independence Square on February 21-22, 2014. On February 21, poems by poets Lyudmyla Maksymliuk and Tetyana Domashenko were published, using the phrase “Heavenly Hundred”. The next day, the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred were already being spoken about from the Maidan stage and written about on online resources. The Government portal mentioned the Heavenly Hundred Heroes on February 28, 2014.
The Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred include people of different nationalities, religions, education, and ages. Among them are citizens of Ukraine, Belarus, and Georgia. The youngest of the Heroes, Nazariy Voitovych, was 17 years old, and the oldest, Ivan Nakonechnyi, was 82 years old. Of the 107 Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred, three are women: Antonina Dvoryanets, Olga Bura and Lyudmyla Sheremet.
The first of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes, Pavlo Mazurenko, died on December 22, 2013, as a result of injuries inflicted by unknown persons wearing the uniform of special forces. The last of the Heroes, Viktor Orlenko, died on June 3, 2015, due to complications from a gunshot wound sustained during the storming of Maidan by security forces on February 18, 2014.
