November 22, 2004 marks the twentieth anniversary of the Orange Revolution, which began as a protest against the falsification of Ukraine's 2004 presidential election. The event got its name from the color used by supporters of presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko and the opposition party “Our Ukraine”. Instead, supporters of Viktor Yanukovych were associated with the white and blue colors of their symbolism.
The Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers publishes photos of Andriy Lomakin, who filmed the development of the events of the Orange Revolution in Kyiv.
Votes and results
The Orange Revolution is a campaign of rallies and protests organized by supporters of the main opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko in the presidential elections in late 2004 after the announcement of preliminary results by the Central Election Commission.
On November 21, 2004, the second round of voting took place, in which the opponents were Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko. In the western and central regions of Ukraine, the advantage was on the side of Viktor Yushchenko, in the southern and eastern regions - Viktor Yanukovych. Before the second round, Yushchenko led a coalition that included candidates from the first round — Yulia Tymoshenko, Oleksandr Moroz and Anatoly Kinakh. Viktor Yanukovych bet on the maximum turnout of his potential electorate in the eastern regions of Ukraine. Incumbent President Leonid Kuchma did not support the candidacy for prime minister, and two days before the second round declared the election campaign dishonest. He assured that the authorities would do everything to prevent the situation from turning into a revolution.
After the announcement of the preliminary official results, Viktor Yanukovych won with a small margin of 3%. The declared election results differed significantly from the exit polling data. Supporters of the opposition candidate and most foreign observers believed that Viktor Yanukovych's team rigged the election.
Photo by Andriy Lomakin
On the day after the voting, November 22, Ukrainians took to the streets of Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine to protest against massive election fraud. Thousands of people from all over Ukraine came to Kyiv to defend their rights. People united on the Maidan and demanded fair presidential elections in Ukraine. Supporters of Viktor Yushchenko and the "Our Ukraine" party began setting up a tent camp on Kyiv’s Independence Square. At first, the number of protesters in Kyiv was about thirty thousand, and the next day this figure grew to one hundred thousand. On November 23, 2004, four hundred tents had already been installed on Khreshchatyk. People shouted slogans, sang songs, and demanded new elections. Meanwhile, on November 24, the Central Election Commission approved the official protocol of the second round of elections. At that time, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Volodymyr Lytvyn announced that no state body had the authority to cancel the election results. Incumbent President Leonid Kuchma called not to use force against the protesters and to seek a way out of the situation.
Photo by Andriy Lomakin
On November 27, at an extraordinary meeting of the Verkhovna Rada, deputies expressed no confidence in the Central Election Commission. A week later, on December 3, the Supreme Court of Ukraine announced its verdict: “Given the impossibility of publishing the official results of the second round of elections, hold a second vote on December 26, 2004.”
After almost two weeks of rallies and demonstrations, a repeat second round of elections was scheduled and amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine were adopted. On December 8, as a result of the voting of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine became a parliamentary-presidential republic. On December 26, Viktor Yushchenko won the repeat second round of elections. According to unofficial data, in total, three to seven million Ukrainians took part in the protests.
Photo by Andriy Lomakin
Snow and Oranges
“If we compare the Orange Revolution with the events of the following years, it was even festive. Perhaps because of the constant snow, or because of the orange color — so bright, so warm, which filled absolutely everything, — recalls photographer Andriy Lomakin. — There were no clashes, no shooting, no sense of aggression, but on the contrary, there was confidence that everything would end very well. The atmosphere as a whole was pleasant, even a little theatrical.”
Photo by Andriy Lomakin
Andriy Lomakin began working with photography a few years before the Orange Revolution. He says that at that time he did not yet have enough skills to shoot demonstrations and events of such scale. Lomakin worked for a sports magazine and mostly photographed football and basketball matches, various competitions, and so on.
“When the Orange Revolution began, I immediately understood — it was necessary to photograph. Even if the pictures were bad, even if not very successful, it was absolutely necessary to shoot. There was a feeling that these were events important for the history of Ukraine,” — recalls the photographer. — “I mostly photographed in the evenings after work, but they were understanding there — they let me leave earlier.”
Photo by Andriy Lomakin
Andriy Lomakin photographed Independence Square in Kyiv, the Dnipro embankment, near the railway station and the circus, as well as polling stations.
“At that time, five photographers united, and we wanted to create a large project about the presidential elections. Shooting on the Maidan in Kyiv was supposed to be one of the components of the project. We wanted to capture a cross-section of the event — to show the everyday life of the protesters, the demonstrations, the voting, and so on, — ” explains Andriy Lomakin. — “I ran everywhere I could. However, the project remained ‘raw’; we could not select photographs from the material shot that would truly represent history. None of us yet had experience shooting such photo projects. We were all driven, but we didn’t really understand what exactly to photograph and how.”
Renowned Kyiv photographer Viktor Suvorov, who was the ideological inspirer of the project, died in a car accident, and the fellow photographers finally abandoned the idea of creating a large project about the Orange Revolution.
For Andriy Lomakin, photographing the Orange Revolution became his first experience working with protesters. He recalls that he had to communicate a lot with people, not just walk around and click the camera.
“Despite the warm and favorable atmosphere, it was still psychologically difficult to photograph such a large number of people. Before that, I shot amateur black-and-white street photography, then sports,” — shares Andriy.
Photo by Andriy Lomakinin
“I had an interesting moment during the Maidan shootings. I was photographing a basketball match, after which I immediately ran to document the revolution,” — recalls Lomakin. — “At the basketball game, we were given a badge with a wide blue ribbon. Let me remind you that blue was the color symbolizing Viktor Yanukovych’s election campaign. I put the badge in my pocket, but the ribbon, as it turned out later, was sticking out. In this form, I entered the tents of Yushchenko’s supporters. I was surprised that, despite the blue ribbon, everyone was very kind and friendly.”
The photographer recalls that he communicated a lot with people, but did not keep any contacts or names. The Orange Revolution took place twenty years ago, then came the Revolution of Dignity, and the memories of these events became intertwined. Now only photographs help him recall the chronology. “Many memories were displaced by the second Maidan, which was much harsher,” says Andriy Lomakin. During the Orange Revolution there were also clashes, but they were rather exceptions. Lomakin remembers filming Yanukovych’s supporters who almost pushed his colleague Ivan Chernichkin off a parapet. However, overall the atmosphere was calm, and people were oriented toward positive change.
Photo by Andriy Lomakin
Andriy Lomakin even came to shoot with his son, who was two years old at the time. “My son sat on my shoulders, I walked with him everywhere, showing him the Maidan,” — says the photographer. — “The Orange Revolution was even similar to a holiday. It was very bright, and I don’t even know what other event it could be compared to. The Orange Revolution was filled with kindness and imbued with hope. Hope for the future.”
Photo by Andriy Lomakin
Andriy Lomakin is a Ukrainian photographer. In 1999, he graduated from Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (NTUU KPI) with a degree in electronic engineering. He practiced mixed martial arts but left professional sports due to injuries.
He worked as a photographer for a sports publication. From 2008 to 2014, he was a staff photographer for Tyzhdenmagazine. Since 2014, he has been developing personal projects as a freelancer. His work focuses on exploring Ukraine’s social landscape, combining documentary photography with archival research (including projects such as Forgotten Victories and Two Lives). He was named Photographer of the Year (2017) for the series Amulet (2015) and received the Allard Prize for the series Maidan Revolt (2014).
Contributors to the material:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Katya Moskalyuk
Photo editor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary editor: Yulia Futei
