The сivic movement "Vidsich" ( uk, Відсіч, ''Rebuff'', Russian: Bидсич) is an active

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

nonviolent social movement created in 2010 as a reaction to the policies of then President of Ukraine

Victor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of Di ...

and his " pro-Russian" tendencies connected with his administration. During his administration, ''Vidsich'' focused on protesting against Yanukovych’s increasing authoritarianism as well as the policies his government enacted. During Euromaidan, ''Vidsich'' became one of the movement’s leading groups. As of 2022'', Vidsich'' focuses on aiming to defend

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties ma ...

and constitutional freedoms. Since the Revolution of Dignity, the movement has also advocated for boycotts of Russian products and the promotion of Ukrainian culture. ''Vidsich'' aims to unite activists who are convinced that people cannot be neutral with regard to the political and social situation in Ukraine. ''Vidsichs aim is in creating a strong national movement which can protect the interests of

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

and Ukraine in general.

Founding

After Victor Yanukovich won the 2010 presidential elections, opposition-supporting citizens, including many who had previously taken part in protests and campaigns, decided to gather and discuss the likely changes to the social and political situation in Ukraine in light of the handover of power. This conference took place in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

on 20 February 2010. This date is considered to be the Vidsich founding date as the conference led to decisions in favour of further self-organization and activity, with participants sketching out the principles and directions for the future of the nascent movement. In attendance were participants of previous opposition movements ("Granite revolution", "

Ukraine without Kuchma Ukraine without Kuchma ( uk, Україна без Кучми; ''Ukrayina bez Kuchmy'', Russian: Украина без Кучмы, UBK) was a mass protest campaign that took place in Ukraine in 2000–2001, demanding the resignation of President ...

" movement, civic committee "Za pravdu!" ("For truth"), civic campaigns " Pora!" ("It's time"), etc.), and other opposition-supporting members of Ukrainian society.

Principles of the movement

Nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

* Absence of leaders * Openness * No party affiliation /

Non-partisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers s ...

Consensus decision-making Consensus decision-making or consensus process (often abbreviated to ''consensus'') are group decision-making processes in which participants develop and decide on proposals with the aim, or requirement, of acceptance by all. The focus on e ...

* Sacrificion *

Copyleft Copyleft is the legal technique of granting certain freedoms over copies of copyrighted works with the requirement that the same rights be preserved in derivative works. In this sense, ''freedoms'' refers to the use of the work for any purpose ...

Actions and protest campaigns

From the March 2010, the civic movement "Vidsich" took part in hundreds of events (mostly street actions, warning strikes, sit down strikes, public hearings, round tables) in many cities of Ukraine, made either by ourselves, either in cooperation with other organizations. Examples include: * "Campaign Against Tabachnyk" / “Anti-Tobacco Campaign” ( uk, АнтиТабачна кампанія, Russian: АнтиТабачная кампания) – aimed to protect Ukrainian education and science from the decisions made by the Minister of Education and Science

Dmytro Tabachnyk Dmytro Volodymyrovych Tabachnyk ( uk, Дмитро Володимирович Табачник, ; born November 26, 1963) is a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician, and former science and education minister of Ukraine.anti-Ukrainian, chauvinistic, pro-Russian, xenophobic statements. * The campaign "No to Police State" ( uk, Ні поліцейській державі, Russian: Нет полицейскому государству) – demanded impartial investigation and worthy punishment of those, as well as an identification and prosecution of those guilty in the case of the student Ihor Indylo’s death, in other cases and against police abuse. The campaign also sought to protest against Yanukovych’s increasing authoritanism. * A campaign against the “2450” bill, which would significantly decrease the freedom of peaceful assembly, and for protection of the right to peaceful protest. The campaign also held solidarity actions with the 2011-2013 Russian Anti-Putin protestors, and Belorussian anti-Lukashenko protestors, who aimed for the right to peaceful assembly in their countries. * The campaign "Start the work, stop the talk!" ( uk, Займіться ділом, а не язиком!, Russian: Займитесь делом, а не языком!) – which sought to prevent the new legislation "On languages in Ukraine" #1015-3, "On the principles of the state language policy" #9073 and its modifications (''main: Legislation on languages in Ukraine''), which would have prioritised the Russian language in Ukraine over Ukrainian for the first time since 1991, instead of the two languages having previously been equal in status. Activists argued this would ignite a “language” conflict and reduce the status of the Ukrainian language in the public space and in the lives of Ukrainians. ** The campaign "Revenge for division of Ukraine" aimed at preventing the adoption of the Law "On the Principles of State Language Policy" No. 9073 and at the elimination of negative effects of the Law "On the Principles of State Language Policy" No. 5029-VI. It consisted of bringing down the poll numbers of the political parties and MPs who voted for this law and other persons who contributed to the adoption of this law. * The campaign " Against degradation of education" ( uk, Проти деградації освіти, Russian: Против деградации образования) - sought to prevent the adoption of the Bill “On Higher Education”" (#7486-1, #9655 and else), which would have lowered the civil liberties of students, as well as reducing their social protection. ''Vidsich'' also argued the law allowed for corruption in educational facilities. ** Advocacy of

External independent testing External independent evaluation or External independent testing (EIT, external testing, ET) is the examination for admission to universities in Ukraine. Complex organizational procedures (first - testing) aim to determine the level of academic p ...

(EIT) – against the adoption of draft laws No. 1187 and No. 2060а minimizing the significance and function of EIT. * The organisation of protests against the new Tax Code, which forced the government to cancel its immediate adoption (it was adopted later with revisions) as well as refuse the idea of swift embranchment of the Housing, Labour, and Pension Codes. * Calling for action against censorship and for freedom of speech, which became a particularly divisive issue during Yanukovych’s presidency. In particular – against frequency lowering for channels "5" and "TVi", "STB", and for commemorating the memory of dead journalists since

Ukrainian independence Ukraine emerged as the concept of a nation, and the Ukrainians as a nationality, with the Ukrainian National Revival which began in the late 18th and early 19th century. The first wave of national revival is traditionally connected with the publ ...

. * Campaign for commemoration of the famine genocide Holodomor victims of 1932–1933, promotion of rename the toponyms, which cares the names of organizers and executors of genocide. * Campaign " Do not buy Russian goods!" is a campaign to boycott Russian goods after the trade export blockade against Ukraine by Russia, started in August 2013;У соцмережах українців закликають бойкотувати російські товари
Український тиждень. 15 August 2013 later – in response to the military invasion of Russia in Ukraine, started in March 2014. ** Campaign "

Boycott Russian Films Boycott Russian Films ( uk, Бойкот російського кіно, ''Boykot rosiys'koho kino'') is a Ukrainian civic campaign that supports a boycott of Russian films and television series. It is a part of a broader boycott campaign cal ...

". At the end of September 2014 the campaign on Russian cinema boycott started spreading. Particularly it is about boycott of films and serials, produced in Russia and broadcast on Ukrainian television and shown in the cinemas – first of all those, in which Russian security structures are popularized or signs of

ukrainophobia Anti-Ukrainian sentiment, Ukrainophobia or anti-Ukrainianism is animosity towards Ukrainians, Ukrainian culture, the Ukrainian language, Ukraine as a nation, or all of the above.Andriy Okara. Ukrainophobia is a gnostic problem.n18texts Okara. Re ...

are present. Activists also called to boycott Russian actors and directors, who supported

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

's policy concerning warfare in Ukraine in 2014. During September activists conducted several monitorings on presence of Russian content in the Ukrainian television.В Україні оголошено "Бойкот російського кіно"
Zaxid.net. 22 September 2014
Вести UA. 8 September 2014 * Participation in "

Euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhno ...

", including the organization of student strikes and campaign of boycott

Party of Regions The Party of Regions ( uk, Партія регіонів, Partiia rehioniv, ; russian: Партия регионов, Partiya regionov) was a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine formed in late 1997 that then grew to be the biggest party of U ...

. During Euromaidan "Vidsich" in

formed a

sotnia Sotnia (Ukrainian and ) was a military unit and administrative division in many Slavic countries. Sotnia, deriving back to 1948, has been used in a variety of contexts in both Ukraine and Russia to this day. It is a helpful word to create sh ...

joined to Self-Defense of the Maidan, where received the 16th number. * Events organized for raising funds, gathering of products, equipment etc. for Ukrainian military forces (particularly – for 95th OAMBr) that are fighting in the east of Ukraine. Also – demand actions for: returning control of eastern Ukraine and Crimea; setting requirements to the Ukrainian government to provide all necessary items and services for Ukrainian military forces; * "Stop "Ze" Revanch" campaign against

Volodymyr Zelensky Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...

, the candidate on

2019 Ukrainian presidential election The 2019 Ukrainian presidential election was held on 31 March and 21 April in a two-round system. There were 39 candidates for the election on the ballot. The Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia an ...

. Consisted mainly of mass spreading of leaflets, stickers and other materials with information criticising the candidate. * "Red Lines" campaign. Activists drew some " red lines" for the new Ukrainian government (in particular for president, Parliament and executive branch) which it should not cross. In case the government do cross those lines, activists promise it will face an immediate resistance and protests from the civil society. Those "red" lines are divided into six topics:

Ukrainization Ukrainization (also spelled Ukrainisation), sometimes referred to as Ukrainianization (or Ukrainianisation) is a policy or practice of increasing the usage and facilitating the development of the Ukrainian language and promoting other elements of ...

, European-

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

integration,

decommunization Decommunization is the process of dismantling the legacies of communist state establishments, culture, and psychology in the post-communist countries. It is sometimes referred to as political cleansing. Although the term has been occasionally ...

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, relations with Russia, territorial structure and integrity. Any steps to revert or sabotage Ukrainization, European-Atlantic integration, decommunization or reforms in Armed Forces, to restore good relations with Russia, to rearrange territorial structure or to violate territorial integrity will be considered as crossing the red lines. The campaign started with a performance near the building of the

Office of the President of Ukraine The Office of the President of Ukraine ('' uk, Офіс Президента України'') (formerly ''Administration of the President of Ukraine'', uk, Адміністрація Президента) is a standing advisory body set up by ...

on 4 July 2019. From that moment activists are reporting about their spreading of leaflets about red lines,Vidsich in Facebook
7 July 2019Vidsich in Facebook
8 July 2019Vidsich in Facebook
9 July 2019 and also about spreading leaflets against the TV presenter and, at the moment, parliamentary candidate in electoral district 94 from the party

Servant of the People Servant of the People (SN; uk, Слуга народу, Sluha narodu, ) is a liberal, centrist, pro-European political party in Ukraine. It was formed in late 2017 and was officially registered on 31 March 2018 on the basis of the previousl ...

Oleksandr Dubinsky Oleksandr Anatoliiovych Dubinsky ( uk, Олекса́ндр Анато́лійович Дубі́нський; born 18 April 1981) is a Ukrainian journalist, politician, blogger, presenter of "Money" TV show on 1 + 1 channel. He has been a ...

, who was claimed by activists to have crossed the red lines long ago.Vidsich in Facebook
8 July 2019 Later, Vidsich also started spreading leaflets against other parliamentary candidates, who in their opinion have crossed the red lines: Maksim Lutsky, candidate in electoral district 222 from Opposition Platform – For Life;Vidsich in Facebook
17 July 2019

Vitaly Zhuravsky Vitaly Zhuravsky ( uk, Віталій Станіславович Журавський; born May 8, 1955) is a Ukrainian MP elected to the Verkhovna Rada in the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election for Party of Regions from the Zhytomyr region.

, self-nominated candidate from electoral district 66;idsich in Facebook
(videostream), 18 July 2019Vidsich in Facebook
19 July 2019

Serhiy Leshchenko Serhiy Leshchenko ( uk, Сергій Анатолійович Лещенко, 30 August, 1980) is a Ukrainian ex-journalist, politician and public figure, Member of Parliament (8th Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada). From 2002 until 2014 Leshchenko was ...

, self-nominated candidate from electoral district 220Vidsich in Facebook
19 July 2019Vidsich in Facebook
18 July 2019Vidsich in Facebook
19 July 2019 and Opposition Platform – For Life in general.Vidsich in Facebook
23 July 2019 Also, CM "Vidsich" was an organizer or a participant in actions: of solidarity actions with Gorky park defenders; against Black Sea fleet of Russian Federation being on Ukraine's territory; for defending Ukrainian translations of the foreign movies; against persecution of historians and history rewriting; for promotions of state symbols; "Easter together" (students of the south and east of Ukraine staying in the families of their age-mates in the city of

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

); Against museum throw-away from

Lavra A lavra or laura ( el, Λαύρα; Cyrillic: Ла́вра) is a type of monastery consisting of a cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church and sometimes a refectory at the center. It is erected within the Orthodox and other Eastern ...

; "Ukrainian broadcast – on air!"; against the

Mazepa Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa (also spelled Mazeppa; uk, Іван Степанович Мазепа, pl, Jan Mazepa Kołodyński; ) was a Ukrainian military, political, and civic leader who served as the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host in 1687–1708. ...

street renaming; in memory of 66 anniversary of the Crimean Tatars deportation; "Ruined

Khreshchatyk Khreshchatyk ( uk, Хрещатик, ) is the main street of Kyiv, Ukraine. The street has a length of . It stretches from the European Square (northeast) through the Maidan and to Bessarabska Square (southwest) where the Besarabsky Market ...

– we remember!"; "Doughnuts for Donetsk region people" ( uk, Пампухи для донеччан); collection of signatures for restoration of traffic of some suburban trains, and actions against the made-up ticket deficit in cash desks of Ukrzaliznytsya (Ukrainian railroads); students "arms" demonstration; creative action of protest against "tour" bill #8757 and other activities.

Notable activists

* Mykhaylo Svystovych * Kateryna Chepura * Yulia Mykytenko

References

External links

Official site of movement "Vidsich"
(Ukrainian).
Facebook profileFacebook groupTwitter threadLiveJournalYouTube channelPhoto gallery on BBC

Russia, hands off Ukraine
Official group of campaign "Do not buy Russian!" on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...