Cardboard revolution

Ukraine's defiant youth has sparked a spontaneous grassroots movement that is testing Zelensky's anti-corruption plank

- BY MRIDULA GHOSH/KYIV

ANGELINA, 25, holds her cardboard tight and paints the letters carefully: “Repeal law no. 12414. We need a real transparent Ukraine.” Nearby, her friend Svitlana has finished writing hers: “My dad did not give his life for this mess. Make Ukraine free from corruption.”

Since July 23, emotional protests led by young people have rocked the war-torn country's major cities. They held up cardboard placards—hundreds of them—filling the square before the Ivan Franko Theatre in Kyiv. It is a place close enough to the presidential office that President Volodymyr Zelensky could watch them from his window. This was an important change: the traditional choice for protests is Maidan Nezalezhnosti or Independence Square, which lies a bit farther away.

Who are these activists defying martial law, risking themselves? Many describe themselves as innocent young people with dreams of a free and prosperous Ukraine. Some say they are at the beck and call of certain forces. A deeper look reveals that most of them are teenagers or those in their mid-20s, with strong opinions and views. This is the generation formed in the crucible of war, having grown up amid the howl of sirens and devastation of missiles.

The cardboard placards were handmade and raw, and some slogans bordered on the edge of decency. Some used vulgar slurs and abuses, reflecting the nonconformism and insolence of the youth. The slurs put off many parliamentary politicians, who avoided joining the agitation or aligning with it. This marked the “Cardboard Revolution” as a unique grassroots protest not orchestrated by any organised political group.