Additional information
by Sonya Koshkina (Author), Max Levin (Photographer), Maxim Kudimetz (Photographer)
Numerous books on the Maidan have mushroomed since its victory in February 2014. Most of them, however, reproduce popular blogs and personal stories without sufficient conceptualization of the protest. This book makes a step further. Its ambition is to reconstruct the whole picture of the protest in every detail. Thus, the author explores the schemes of movements of the special forces, publishes for the first time the orders they received, sheds light on the role of the Russian instructors. She describes new facts about the mass killing on the Maidan, which were only recently established by the ongoing investigation and remain unpublished. The goal of the book is to give a reader an idea about background of the protests on the Maidan, to provide her with historical frame of the events, to explain motives of the Ukrainian society, Ukrainian opposition, and regime of the ousted President Yanukovych as they arrived at deadly clash on the central square of the Ukrainian capital. The narrative of the book builds on the personal witnesses of the ordinary protesters, on the exclusive comments and interviews with the protagonists of the clashes, including social activists, politicians from the opposition parties of that time, and the main actors on behalf of the regime: Petro Poroshenko, Yulia Timoshenko, Rinat Akhmetov, Olexandr Yanukovych, Oleksandr Turchinov, Tetyana Chernovol and others. Most information has never been published and was shared with the author particularly for her book. Some bits of the information is truly revealing. The book also contains personal experiences and insights of the author, who is one of the most read journalists in Ukraine, an editor-in-chief of the popular online portal LB.ua. Sonya Koshkina is also known to the international readers, as she has published her reports on the Ukrainian developments in English, French, and German in the European media and presented at various round tables and conferences. Last but not least, the book is written in elegant style and features wit, which make the author extremely popular in the Ukrainian public. The book is intended for wide audience, for people who read quality newspapers and try to have their own opinion about what's going on in the world. It fits genre of the series "A Short Introduction to..." At the same time, it will be useful to the experts, journalists, and politicians writing and thinking of Ukraine, as it contains unique details and insights that have never been published before. The book consists of 4 parts and includes 3 blocks of coloured photos taken by the photographer of the LB.ua Max Levin. Part 1 describes the events of November-December 2013, part 2 - January 2014, part 3 - February 2014. Part 4 contains four chapters: one on annexation of Crimea; two on the role of the Church; three - a story told by the son of Viktor Yanukovych Alexandr; and four on Donbass. The book has been originally published in Russian and Ukrainian by Bright Star Publishing in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Author Biography
A leading Ukrainian journalist who writes on a wide variety of political issues including democracy, human rights, freedom of speech, etc. Author of over 3000 articles, columns, and interviews. Known for her svere criticism of the regime of Yanukovych. Experienced persecutions from the regime and was forced to exile. Runs as editor-in-chief an online portal LB.ua, which is one of the most successful online political journals with up to 3.5 million readers monthly. One of the directors of the Gorshenin Group, a leading political think-tank in Ukraine.
