After the Revolution

I am a graduate student at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Chicago. I served as a TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) volunteer in the United States Peace Corps in the Republic of Moldova from 2004-2006.

While there, I watched the unfolding of Ukraine’s Orange Revolution on the nightly news. Soon after, I traveled to Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, to observe its presidential election. The day Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin of the Communist party was reelected, I did not see a single protest rally.

I’ve seen that revolution does not occur automatically in poor, former Soviet states run by Russia-influenced politicians. And so I am fascinated by the recent history of Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.

Between 2003 and 2005, Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan all overthrew their leaders with mass protests held after disputed elections. These movements were some of the most recent in a wave of mostly non-violent revolutions in post-communist societies in Europe and Asia. They have been collectively called color or flower revolutions after the symbols protesters chose to represent their causes.

The high hopes raised during these movements have faded as their heroes have fallen from grace and, in some cases, come to resemble the corrupt leadership they replaced. But a spirit of revolt still appears to be alive in the people of Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan as they search for an end to poverty and corruption.

I created this blog as an assignment for a new media storytelling class. My goal is to give readers a better understanding of this underreported part of the world. Tell me what you think.