But the
minister’s message quickly turns dark and ominous: “Don’t violate public order.
Remember your parents and loved ones who always worry about you. Be careful and
vigilant! Take care of yourself! You have a great life ahead of you and you need
to choose its direction and movement…” 

It’s as if he
took every Soviet-era cautionary warning he’s ever heard and threw them all out
there to see what stuck. 

The impetus for
Tabachnyk’s statement is the mass mobilization of students from key
universities across Ukraine, notably in Kyiv and Lviv. An anecdotal story
making the rounds on social media has a student telling a professor, “We really
love your lectures, but we have to join the protests.” The professor replies,
“I’ll see you on the streets.” 

Well-educated,
mobile, and social media-savvy, the students are concerned about the future – theirs,
and the country at large. They are the first generation of Ukrainians born with
no memory of the Soviet Union; they represent independent Ukraine and its
future. They feel the burden of duty on their shoulders.  They understand the implications of their
actions. And so, when Tabachnyk suggests the students are being coerced into
joining the barricades, he is misinformed. 

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Editor’s Note: Join top government officials, leading industry CEOs, business owners and other experts to discuss Ukraine’s future after the Vilnius Summit at this year’s Kyiv Post Tiger Conference, which will be held on Dec 3 in Premier Palace Hotel. The guests and speakers will assess the effects on Ukrainian political and economic life of not signing an association agreement with the European Union at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Nov. 28-29.  Register now or find out more here 

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A friend in Kyiv
put it aptly: “It’s not about visas. It’s also not about EU membership. The
first is a practicality, and the second wasn’t on the table anyway.” 

The about-face by
President Viktor Yanukovych and Prime Minister Azarov’s government serves as a catalyst
for deeper-set, endemic problems in post-Soviet Ukraine. 

“Better to skip
a few lectures than to miss our whole future” is the general message among
students out on the streets. 

Bleak job
prospects and rampant corruption are but two of the most prominent issues motivating
the protestors. The European Union and the system of values on which it’s built
represent hope and a positive direction for a population that’s known nothing
but bribes and corruption. Vilnius was to have been a stepping stone on the
long and difficult road to a better life. 

Pundits in
Ukraine and abroad are placing their bets on the final outcome Friday in
Vilnius. Will he sign or won’t he? Victory or failure? Even with the
president’s mid-week re-commitment not to sign, the intrigue persists. 

Whatever the
outcome, I believe students on the Maidan have already won a significant
victory. It would indeed be a major disappointment if Yanukovych fails to heed
the message from the streets. But this week’s protests are serving notice to
all – both politicians and passive citizens convinced of the futility of
protest movements – that the electorate is strong and willing to voice its
displeasure. 

As the Financial
Times pointed out, this week’s protests “shattered the myth that another
non-violent revolution is not possible in Ukraine due to widespread
disillusionment with politicians that followed the Orange Revolution. Nine
years on, there is lots of fresh youth, with fresh energy and high hopes for
the country’s future.”

The tone of Minister
Tabachnyk’s statement suggests real fear. Given the impressive mobilisation of
the students this week his fear is not misguided.

Danylo Spolsky is a former Kyiv Post staff writer who lived
in Kyiv from 2007 to 2012. He is currently completing an International MBA at
the Schulich School of Business in Toronto, Canada.