The 7th anniversary of the Orange Revolution attracted only a few dozen supporters of ex-president Viktor Yushchenko to Maidan Square in Kiev since the revolution’s anti-Russian sentiment is not as popular in today’s Ukraine, Kirill Frolov of the Institute of CIS countries said on Tuesday.
“Ukraine has realized that its future is only in integration with Russia,” Frolov said, adding that there are no more active supporters of Yushchenko’s pro-western rhetoric in today’s Ukraine. “The Orange Revolution’s anti-Russian ideas have been marginalized since 2004 as Ukraine is moving towards integration with Russia.”
Earlier on Tuesday there was only one Yushchenko supporter at the Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti). The man was wearing an orange scarf, a symbolic color of the revolution, and holding a banner with the slogan "Yushchenko, we are with you.” He was watched by a bunch of police officers packed on a bus.
Later on, police officers and Berkut commandos were reported to have surrounded a few dozen opposition activists who attempted to set up a tent at the Maidan Square. The Kiev District Administrative Court had banned any celebrations of the revolution’s anniversary.
In late November 2004, protests by millions of Ukrainians against rigged presidential elections led to Yushchenko's victory in a run-off.
