Volodymyr Zelensky’s Ukraine is defined by self-organisation
Coming together is what Ukrainians do
ALL MAIN roads in Kyiv lead to Maidan, the open space at the heart of the city—even if, at the moment, some of them are blocked by concrete barriers and tank traps. The central space is, most of the time, a busy urban miscellany. The metro station and a labyrinthine shopping centre wrestle for space below ground; the Stalinist buildings on the perimeter boast franchises like McDonald’s and one-offs like the jellyfish museum. And sometimes it is the heart of the nation.
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “A country that comes together”
From the April 16th 2022 edition
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