There is a very common misunderstanding about the timing of a specific event in Ukraine’s not-so-distant history. Many reporters and journalists of significant reputation have informed their very large audiences that Ukraine’s former President Victor Yanukovych turned away from the EU Association Agreement “in favor of” a better deal from Russia.

The fact is that Russia did offer Yanukovych a package of $15 billion of economic assistance (it is obvious too that Yanukovych would have pocketed as much of that personally as he possibly could, it’s also obvious that Putin was fully aware of this, Putin would consider such behavior to be normal of course) and that Putin’s kindness also extended to a one third discount in the price that Ukraine paid for gas (but the small print said that Ukraine had to buy a larger quantity of gas than was needed, and that volume had to be paid for even if it wasn’t used, this was called the “take or pay” provision.)

The terms of the deal are well known. Where history is being commonly misrepresented is in the timing.

Ukraine’s revolution started on Nov. 21, 2013. Putin’s billions came on Dec. 17, 2013. In the weeks between these events many things happened in Kyiv and across Ukraine that had already set the irreversible course of the revolution, and that’s why it’s important to get this issue right. Twenty-seven days is a very long time in the context of a revolution.

Nov. 21

The revolution begins. It was not ordered by the CIA or the State Department or the EU or anybody else. Ukrainians reacted angrily, but peacefully, to the shocking announcement that the EU Association Agreement would not be signed. The signing was due to take place just one week later, and the agreement was the subject of more than a decade of publicly declared foreign policy from Ukraine and had attracted little objection from Russia in that time.

People gather on Maidan, and Maidan becomes EuroMaidan.

Nov. 30

(Early morning) The centre of the city had been occupied, but not blocked, for nine days. The people who had most at stake from the Yanukovych volte-face were of course the young, and so it was mainly students who had camped on the square, in the cold, 24/7, protesting the decision not to forge closer ties with Europe. Yanukovych had travelled to what would have been the signing ceremony on Nov. 28-29 in Vilnius. He offered poor excuses, most famously to Angela Merkel when she told him “We expected more of you.” He then returned home, and then he sent his riot police on to the square to beat the kids who were singing songs, and put an end the revolution with a brutal show of force.

To Yanukovych, a twice-convicted violent criminal, this was a sound calculation. But it backfired, because if there’s one thing you will not get away with in Ukraine, it’s hurting someone’s kids.

Nov. 30

(The day) The police controlled Maidan. EuroMaidan continued, but for this day (and a half) it was located 600 meters away on Kyiv’s beautiful Mikhailovsky Square. The square was packed with people, their resilience was rewarded by every passing car driver with a blast of the horn, accompanied by “V” signs and shaken fists through lowered car windows. Anyone standing on EuroMaidan on the day of Nov. 30 knew that a revolution was underway, the events of the following day would confirm this.

The politicians who were in opposition to Yanukovych, the nominal leaders of the protest movement, created a plan. A call went out to meet in Shevchenko Park on the following day. Depending on whether 5,000 people; or 20,000 people; or 50,000 people showed up, they had three different scenarios planned out for how the day could unfold.

Dec. 1

One million people flooded the streets of Kyiv. By sending his thugs to beat a bunch of kids 36 hours earlier, Yanukovych had badly miscalculated and enraged normally passive people. The crowd moved from Shevchenko Park (which is not named after the footballer by the way) to Maidan. On the way they passed the monument to Lenin, which was guarded by some very scared-looking police officers.

When one million people arrived on Maidan the police walked away, there was no violence, none was needed. Leading the crowd were three vans carrying PA systems, when they arrived on Maidan various people took turns to make speeches. Ukrainian singer and national icon Slava Vakarchuk was one of them. “Today all of us are here independent of any political views, people from different cities, from different regions across Ukraine, people who speak different languages, we all came here to fight for our freedom and our dignity.” Watch the cold but excellent Winter On Fire documentary on Netflix, from about 15 minutes.

The revolution that was still called EuroMaidan was now the Revolution of Dignity.

Dec. 8

Not much happened on Maidan during the week, after protesters occupied the square on Dec. 1. Barricades had been set up and the square was now closed to traffic. A stage had been erected and a plan was announced to repeat the feat of Dec. 1, and call for a massive turnout for what would become the weekly Sunday gatherings. People had jobs, Maidan was held by a small group of very determined protesters during the week to facilitate the Sunday gatherings.

The name given to the Dec. 8 gathering was “The March of a Million.” Once again, one million people stood on Maidan protesting against the corruption of the Yanukovych regime. Close to the barricades a young girl complained to her grandmother “there are too many people, we will never find space there” and babushka (they always know best) replied “we will get as close as we can, this is history.”

Anywhere in the world if a million decent people come out in the streets for two weeks in a row, the government would resign. And this was happening across the country.

Dec. 11

Yanukovych again sent riot police to dismantle this peaceful and courageous movement. A movement with fair reason to complain and a movement that had reasonable demands.

Throughout the night taxis carried people from all parts of Kyiv to Maidan for free. Hardworking ordinary people rushed to defend their right for a democratic and transparent government.

Dec. 17

Victor Yanukovych, a thief, went to Moscow and signed an agreement with Vladimir Putin whereby Ukraine got $15 billion and a one-third reduction in the price of gas.

(Off topic sideline: Gas had been one of the biggest corruption schemes in Ukraine (not only in Ukraine of course…) and reforming this monument to blatant looting of the people by the people in power is one of Ukraine’s biggest reform successes since the revolution, Naftogaz now acts in a professional way with a very credible group of counterparts with an enormous degree of transparency. )

So, back to the timeline. Those 27 days were astonishing. The people of Ukraine became even more determined that this way of behavior, the blatant corruption, should be stopped. This period of time saw laywers and bookkeepers and students became heroes.

$3 billion of the $15 was delivered to Ukraine, it is now the topic of a lawsuit in London. The twist to the gas discount is that the reduction in price was tied to a take or pay deal where Ukraine was to buy more gas than it needed, for no sensible reason, and if Ukraine didn’t take the required higher volume it had to pay for it anyway. This topic is now the subject of an arbitrational hearing in Sweden right now.