The Orange Revolution: "the longest rock concert in history" (11/27/05)

The Orange Revolution: "the longest rock concert in history"

by Bohdan Klid

When mass protests broke out in Kyiv following the rigged November 21, 2004, vote for president, observers who made their way to Ukraine's capital noted that, despite the tenseness generated by the political standoff, a carnival-like atmosphere marked the insurgency that became known as the Orange Revolution.

While a large stage in downtown Kyiv's Independence Square provided the main platform from which Viktor Yushchenko, the opposition candidate, and his political allies addressed the swelling crowds, it also served as the main venue for Ukraine's leading and lesser-known rock groups and singers, who flocked to the capital to perform before audiences that on occasion surpassed a million.

On occasion Ukraine's leading singers, like Ruslana Lyzhychko, 2004 Eurovision song contest winner, appeared on stage with Mr. Yushchenko and other politicians, blurring the line between music and politics.

Two reporters described this unlikely combination of crisis-driven speechmaking and the merrymaking associated with a rock festival, which went on for 17 days, as "a post-modernist happening." Another noted that the musical marathon, which took place during Ukraine's most acute political crisis since independence, was probably "the longest rock concert in history." A website reporter labeled the entire affair, aptly, "a singing revolution."

Indeed, Ukraine's rock groups and singers played a critical supportive role in ensuring success for the insurgency. While hundreds of thousands of people soon filled central Kyiv following the opposition's initial appeal, the Ukrainian government then headed by President Leonid Kuchma did not buckle, initially. To force the government to give in, without shedding blood, Mr. Yushchenko and his political allies agreed to undertake a blockade of government and bring its business to a halt. This peaceful war of attrition required time to succeed.

Oleh Skrypka, lead singer of Ukraine's legendary rock group VV (Vopli Vidopliasova), put it well when he said that people in Kyiv were able to hold out for 17 days because of a solid contribution by the country's musicians. They entertained the crowds, inspired them, lifted their spirits, roused them to action and showed their support for the opposition coalition headed by Mr. Yushchenko. Indeed, one could hardly imagine that he and his political allies could have, by speeches alone, inspired hundreds of thousands to remain on the streets for more than two weeks or motivated enough to maintain a peaceful siege of government in the bitter cold.

Ukraine's rock groups sang patriotic and protest songs, but also apolitical tunes that took on new meanings in the politically charged atmosphere created by the insurgency. This volatile period, following an especially brutal, and at times amusing, election campaign, in which Mr. Yushchenko was poisoned, while the government-anointed candidate, Viktor Yanukovych, a huge man, was felled by an egg thrown by a demonstrator, provided ample nourishment for creative minds.

Shortly after the protests began, a then little-known group, Gryndzholy, composed a hip-hop song, "Together, We Are Many" (Razom Nas Bahato) and posted it on the Internet. Downloaded by thousands, it was soon played on Kyiv's downtown stage and became an instant hit.

One song composed on the spot by a group from Sambir in western Ukraine, De Buv Bir, stressed the common interests of people in both western and eastern Ukraine as the country seemed on the verge of splitting. Another, "The Color of the Sun" (Kolir Sontsia) written by Oksana Bilozir, was sung in Ukrainian and Russian, to inspire patriotism in both Russophones and Ukrainian speakers. The ballad-like song, "Don't Sleep, My Native Land" (Ne Spy, Moia Ridna Zemlia), by Serhii Fomenko of the group Mandry, also stirred patriotic feelings and became popular, while another, "The Time Has Come" (Chas Pryishov), performed by a heavy-metal band, De Shifer, beckoned the crowds to "break through unbreakable walls."

DJs produced mixes containing excerpts of political speeches from both candidates: to portray Mr. Yushchenko in a favorable light and to mock Mr. Yanukovych, who was prone to making gaffs. Even Mr. Yanukovych's wife, Liudmyla, was lampooned following her charge that people in Kyiv were crazed by oranges laced with narcotics and supplied with American-made felt boots (valianky) to stay warm.

When people marched off to blockade the presidential administration building, they were singing the song "We're Going," (My Idemo) by Maria Burmaka, a popular singer-songwriter, which contains the line "And ahead, there's fire." Ms. Burmaka, who witnessed this, broke down and cried as she realized that the lyrics had inspired people.

Ukrainian rock stars participated in direct actions of the crowds. Sviatoslav Vakarchuk, lead singer of Okean Elzy, one of Ukraine's best bands, mediated a strike by Taras Shevchenko University students with the administration, and also joined those blockading the presidential administration. Here, in what would surely qualify as a surrealistic moment, he autographed shields of riot police guarding the building.

Mr. Skrypka of VV, avoided the limelight for the most part and organized on-the-spot performances by bards to lift the spirits of those maintaining the blockades.

In the immediate aftermath of the insurgency, kiosks in Kyiv became inundated with both legal and pirate CDs containing songs associated with the Orange Revolution. The Yushchenko camp quickly released a CD, "We are Together" (My Razom), while another early release carried the plain title "Orange Songs" (Pomaranchevi Pisni). A pirate two-CD set, labeled simply "Yes!" (Tak!), was packed with about three dozen tunes plus video clips. Other pirate productions included "Orange Dances" (Pomaranchevi Tantsi) and "Orange Whip" (Pomaranchevyi Stiob), the latter containing tunes ridiculing Viktor and Liudmyla Yanukovych. In January Mr. Skrypka released a CD called "The Spirit Does Not Die, The Spirit Does Not Fade Away" (Dukh ne Vmyraie, Dukh ne Zhasa), containing songs by bards, two of them by 10-year-old Sviatoslav Sylenko, who participated in makeshift concerts by the barricades.

One year after the Orange Revolution, the political victory has lost some of its luster as the governing coalition headed by President Yushchenko has broken up, and many Ukrainians now believe that their new political leaders have let them down.

Yet, the Ukrainian people did succeed in defending their fledgling democracy, which was being subverted by the Kuchma government, and this was quite a feat to behold. Moreover, they accomplished this during a singing revolution that remains untarnished as one of the great happenings of recent history.

Dr. Bohdan Klid is research scholar and assistant director at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta.

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