Resistance Connections UA 🇺🇦

🗣Our comrades and friends are inviting you to a book launch and discussion!

More than twelve years after the Euromaidan uprising, the events of 2013–2014 remain a subject of heated political debate. For some, the Maidan represents a democratic revolution. Others emphasize the role of far-right forces or interpret the events primarily through the lens of geopolitical confrontation. Yet these competing narratives often leave little room for the complex experiences of those who participated in the protests and counterprotests, their aspirations, and the dynamics that transformed a mass uprising into a violent confrontation. In his new book, "Ukraine's Euromaidan: From Revolutionary Euphoria to the Madness of War" (2026), historian William Jay Risch offers a critical history of the revolution through the experiences of participants. He traces the protests in Kyiv and their connections to events across Ukraine. Risch explores how the movement marginalized left-wing voices, how attempts to broaden mobilization fell short, and how escalating violence weakened the state and deepened divisions within Ukrainian society. His account reveals how political opponents came to dehumanize one another and how revolutionary euphoria gave way to confrontation and war. At the book launch, Risch will be joined by sociologist Oleg Zhuravlev, who has also studied the Euromaidan protests, to discuss the uprising: What made the Euromaidan a revolution, and what were its limits? Why did the movement struggle to accommodate different political and social demands? How did protest and counterprotest radicalize one another? And what can this history tell us about revolutionary change today? Speakers: • William Jay Risch is Professor of Russian and Eastern European History at Georgia College & State University, USA. • Oleg Zhuravlev is a sociologist, postdoctoral researcher at TU Dresden, and member of the PS Lab. Moderation: • Olha Lushankina is a sociologist, activist of the ULI, and editor of Commons: Journal of Social Criticism.

📆Tuesday, October 27, 19:00 📍MaHalle, Waldemarstraße 110, 10997 Berlin The event will be conducted in English. ULI acts as a media partner of the event.