The Reverse of the Shevchenko Monument

After the scandalous events of March 9, 2001, when a rally to commemorate Taras Shevchenko resulted in violent clashes of protesters with the police, each new anniversary of the poet’s birthday in Kyiv is awaited if not with apprehension then certainly with interest. After 2001, Shevchenko’s birthday became a sort of test for the opposition forces, a test for their ability to rally their supporters and form their political platform. Thus, to prevent the opposition’s burning desire to gather on March 9 near the Shevchenko Monument by sculptor Manizer together with the country’s leadership from developing into clashes with the police, the scenario of this year’s commemorative events was planned so as to prevent even the smallest scuffles. The traffic jam created by a column of opposition supporters in the Shevchenko Boulevard does not count, since traffic jams are not a rare occurrence in today’s Kyiv.

The column of the especially active Shevchenko devotees was noticeably bisected, the smaller part formed by opposition leaders Viktor Yushchenko, Yuliya Tymoshenko, and Oleksandr Moroz with their entourage and bodyguards. Most of the rally was made up of cheerful students. To ask them about the reasons for their support for the Party of Homeland Defenders, whose slogans they carried, would be a throwaway question. This division in the ranks caught the eye more than the demonstrative gatherings of Moroz, Yushchenko, and Tymoshenko supporters in the nearby side streets. The scene of the columns merging together down the street was not overly impressive either.

The leaders of the currently oppositionist forces were not overly concerned about the sparse turnout of their supporters on March 9. The number of protesters in Volodymyrska Street hardly exceed the number of the police officers who were brought just in case from nearby police precincts. A politician’s popularity among the voters is not measured by his ability to rally a crowd under the right slogans. Above all, the politician must have something to say to the people. From this perspective, March 9, 2004 turned out calm, as there were no new faces or ideas.