Maidan Nezalezhnosti

Maidan Nezalezhnosti after renovation in 2002.
Maidan Nezalezhnosti as seen from the Hotel Ukraina

Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Ukrainian: Майдан Незалежності literally: "Independence Square" ) is the main square of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine. "Maidan" is originally a Persian word which means square.

Maidan Nezalezhnosti was completely rebuilt in 2002. The old look of the square with its many fountains was replaced by a new, more modernist look with bronze compositions (featuring the statues of legendary founders of Kiev Kiy, Schek, Horiv and Lybid, folklore hero Mamay, and the city's protector Archangel Michael) and glass domes. A mostly underground shopping mall, the Globe, was built under Maidan Nezalezhnosti, part of a huge new underground market complex built under the city center.

Maidan Nezalezhnosti during the Orange Revolution

The biggest protests of the UBK campaign and the Orange Revolution took place in this square. Maidan Nezalezhnosti received global media coverage in late 2004 during the Orange Revolution, as hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in the square and pitched tents for several weeks, enduring the cold and snow.