An Orange Revolution - A Personal Journey Through Ukrainian History

In December 2004, the world watched as hundreds of thousand of Ukrainians gathered to defy the results of a rigged residential election. The charismatic Viktor Yushschenko had been poisoned and disfigured by his opponents. The security forces threatened violent repression, but the demonstrators stayed and, as international pressure grew, the corrupt old regime that had been supported by Putin's Kremlin was deposed. It was the most significant moment for Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall. An Orange Revolution is the gripping account of this historic uprising and the events that led to it. Ukraine was treated roughly by the twentieth century, occupied by the Germans and annexed by the Soviets. It saw guerrilla fighting after the Second World War and dissent was crushed by successive Communist administrations. Its history has been one of corruption, power struggles and organised crime, but also of a resiliently optimistic population. Based on the first-hand observation and interviews with major players and anonymous demonstrators alike, this is about a people who have forced a lasting change : judges who defied death threats, a murdered journalist, amateur musicians who composed an anthem for the people, and soldiers who stacked their lives to back the opposition. An Orange Revolution also traces the story of the author's family, who paid a high price for speaking out.