![Sample our Politics & International Relations journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5947/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Politics-International-Relations.jpg"})
Abstract
The article analyzes the “sacred” dimension of the Ukrainian “Orange revolution”, its festive or carnivalesque quality, and properties of a communal ritual. The author argues that Ukrainian citizens who protested against the stolen elections in Kyiv found themselves in the liminoid situation of temporary egalitarian utopianism. This situation resulted in the emergence of communitas, and engendered a powerful feeling of the birth of a civic-republican Ukrainian nation. The festive nature of the “Orange revolution”, sanctioned by the overwhelming confidence in fighting for the rightful democratic cause, reinforced the impression of renewing the society along Western liberal democratic patterns.
Notes
The other type is political religion. Despite the name of the latter, both “religions” apply equally to politics, and the main difference between them is a form of political system they sacralize. Civil religions guarantee a plurality of political ideas, while political religions, on the contrary, imply an apotheosis of ideological monism, hence the usage of this concept in various studies of fascism and Stalinism (e.g. Griffin Citation2007). Since the “Orange revolution” has been democratic in its nature and character, the concept of a civil religion, rather than the political one, is relevant to my study, as democracy, believed to be the most appropriate system of government – at least in the Europeanized world – allows free disputes on socially significant notions.
It may be interesting to consider the “Orange revolution” a “postmaterialist revolution”. As Åslund argues, in 2004 “the economy developed at an extraordinary speed. Ukraine's growth hit 12% […], the highest in the country's modern history” (Citation2009, 164). Therefore, we can assume that the economic growth fulfilled the basic needs of both the elites and Ukrainian society and engendered a shift from materialist toward postmaterialist values, which implied an urge toward political democratization.
“Color Psychology and Marketing.” Precision Intermedia. Accessed 17 July, 2011. http://www.precisionintermedia.com/color.html
Quoted in Solod'ko Pavlo. “Lyudy, yaki stvoryly styl’ revolyutsii. Chastyna persha.” Ukrains'ka pravda. 22 Nov. 2005. Accessed 17 July, 2011. http://www.pravda.com.ua/articles/2005/11/22/3020805/
The title of the song is the famous “Orange revolutionary” slogan. In its turn, this slogan is a Ukrainian remake of “¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido! [The people united will never be defeated]”, a title of the song that was written in 1973 in Chile and then became associated with the international struggle for democracy.
“Sounds, Sights, and Folklore of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine.” Ukraine.com. 2006. Accessed 17 July, 2011. http://www.ukraine.com/blog/sounds-sights-and-folklore-of-the-orange-revolution-in-ukraine
“Zvernennya Prezydenta Ukrainy Viktora Yushchenka do ukrains'koho narodu.” Personal'ny sait Viktora Yushchenka. 2005. Accessed 10 October, 2012. http://web.archive.org/web/20050205054743/ http://www.yuschenko.com.ua/ukr/Press_centre/168/2167/
“Lyudy rozcharuvalys’ ne v idealakh ‘Maidanu’, a v ikh nezdiisnenni.” Tsentr Razumkova. 2011. Accessed 9 October, 2012. http://www.razumkov.org.ua/ukr/article.php?news_id=943
Interestingly, however, in 2007, the cover of Yekelchyk's book (2007) still referred to the connection between the “Orange revolution” and a birth of a modern Ukrainian nation, as the background for the title was Lena Kurovska's 2004 painting named “The Orange Revolution”.
