32 years of the Revolution on Granite

32 years ago, an anti-Soviet protest of Ukrainian youth — Revolution on Granite — took place in the center of Kyiv from October 2 to October 17, 1990. Students from all over Ukraine gathered on the Square of October Revolution (now known as Independence Square or Maidan Nezalezhnosti) and announced a hunger strike. The protesters claimed it would not end until the authorities fulfilled a list of demands. It was a significant manifestation of public disagreement with the Soviet regime, and as a result of the Revolution, most of the protesters’ demands were fulfilled.

As the National Memorial Complex to the Heavenly Hundred Heroes and Revolution of Dignity Museum reports, the Revolution on Granite, aimed against the communist government in Ukraine, laid the foundation for future democratic forms of protest, changed the vector of Ukraine’s development, and became a catalyst for the collapse of the USSR. The students expressed the will of Ukrainian society and brought the restoration of our independence closer.

We have collected archival photos of the participants of the Revolution on Granite: