Kiev, Ukraine. Pro-Russian President Yanukovych dispatches riot police and the hated Berkut, Ukraine’s special forces, to disperse protesters gathered in Maidan Square. Dozens of injured people end up in the hospital. It’s a grave mistake: two days later, on December 1st, 200,000 people defy the ban on demonstrations and take to the streets to protest. It’s like the Orange Revolution ten years earlier. The demonstrations don’t stop, and Yanukovych is forced to make some concessions. But even this isn’t enough. The demonstrations continue almost daily until February, when Interior Ministry troops open fire on the crowd with AK-47 machine guns.
