What sparked the Orange Revolution in 2004?

The mass protests that became the Orange Revolution occurred in the wake of revelations of the government's massive attempted fraud in the 2004 presidential election. As Kuchma's second term was nearing its end, the powerful Donetsk economic clan pressured him into supporting as successor the clan's political face, Viktor Yanukovych.

2004. A poor public speaker lacking charisma, Yanukovych had been twice convicted for theft and assault in his youth, making him an unusual candidate for the highest political office. It is telling that a person like him could rise during the late Kuchma period, when loyalty to the clan and the trust of the oligarchs mattered more than political aptitude or suitable background. In cultivating his support base (primarily in the eastern and southern regions), Yanukovych relied on the political machine he created under the auspices of the Party of Regions.

Predictably, his main opponent was Viktor Yushchenko, supported by his Our Ukraine bloc. It was the first presidential election since 1991 in which the candidate of the party of power was not challenged by a scary-sounding orthodox communist. Instead, a cultured and charismatic proponent of free-market capi­talism and Western democracy took on the unpolished functionary with a criminal past whose campaign focused on developing closer ties with Russia. However, Yanukovych was buoyed by generous funding from friendly oligarchs, the power of the state appa­ratus, and open support from Russian state-controlled television (then still a major news source, especially in the eastern regions of Ukraine).

There were 24 candidates on the ballot in the first round, but Yanukovych and Yushchenko squared off in the second round on November 21, 2004. A serious disparity appeared between the pre­liminary results released by the Central Electoral Commission and the exit polls.

The opposition then called for a mass rally on the Maidan. Spreading the word through text messaging and social media websites, Our Ukraine managed to gather some 200,000 people in the city center by November 22. Thousands more, especially from the western regions, made their way to the capital by bus or train. They occupied the Maidan and much of Khreshchatyk Boulevard by putting up large tents decorated with orange flags. Orange, the campaign color of Our Ukraine, held no particular symbolic signif­icance until then; Yushchenko's campaign made a wise choice to avoid the red and black flag of radical Ukrainian nationalists and generally to focus on clean government rather than the promotion of the Ukrainian language.

As the West condemned the fraudulent elections, pro- opposition Orange rallies spread across the country, especially in central and western Ukraine, and a political standoff ensued. The government did not have the nerve to crack down on the Maidan, where 500,000 or more people gathered for regular rallies and concerts, while tens of thousands were present on the plaza at any given time. The rad­ical student group Pora (It's Time!) put additional pressure on the authorities by blockading government buildings. Most important, the Supreme Court agreed to review the opposition's appeal, which meant postponing the official confirmation of Yanukovych as the winner.

The opposition needed continued mass support in order to keep up the pressure on the disoriented authorities, and the public delivered it emphatically, thus making the Orange Revolution a true popular revolution. The few pro-Yanukovych rallies in the eastern provinces were organized by the local authorities and, as a result, featured less than enthusiastic civil servants and paid protesters- for-hire. In contrast, large and numerous Orange rallies had a wide appeal and relied on a huge network of enthusiastic volunteers. By standing guard on the Maidan on chilly winter nights, the revolutionaries kept alive the hope of a new Ukraine.