Kharkov Maidan

Crowds tonight at Freedom Square. Some vow to bring down the Lenin statue but allegedly a vote has postponed such action for a few days.

A lot has happened in the past 24 hours.


The President (ex-President?) of Ukraine left the capital. Reports come in periodically- Yanukovich is in Kharkov, he's headed to Russia, he's in Donetsk, he pledges to not leave the country. Meanwhile, the doors of his mansion have been thrown open and some outrageous photos are surfacing on the internet: a golden 2-kilogram loaf of bread, a toilet built like a throne, garages full of motorcycles and luxury automobiles. At the same time, the Parliament of Ukraine voted in favor of impeachment.


Yulia Timoshenko, the (until now) jailed politician, she of the blonde braids, has been freed. She's made it to Kyiv already and speaks to the crowds on Maidan.


The mayor and governor of Kharkov fled the city earlier this evening.


Thousands rose up and marched in Kharkov today. You can see it for yourself in this 30-second clip. They marched against the government, in support of the EuroMaidan movement.


I haven't heard anything so far from my friends and students who support Yanukovich. I did catch up online with a friend from the opposite side who marched with the protestors today. A great day, we won, Kate! It was like an endless unity of the nation and people. I almost cried, it was so true without any masks. Today was a crucial moment; if we didn't rise up — we lose. When I asked him what would happen next, he replied Now we must work hard to exterminate the corruption.


A live stream of the events in Kharkov can be seen here.