We realized that we hold the power. Here are 8 key lessons from the Orange Revolution.

Twenty years ago, on November 22, 2004, the Orange Revolution began in Ukraine — a series of protests and rallies against the falsification of presidential election results.

The main Ukrainian gangster of the 2000s, Viktor Yanukovych, was forced to abandon the presidential chair. This marked a triumph for peaceful protests and the beginning of hopes for a pro-Western course for Ukraine.

"Telegraf" conducted a quick survey among prominent Ukrainian historians and political scientists to understand what key lessons and conclusions Ukraine can draw 20 years after the Orange Revolution.

Historian, officer of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, Alexander Alferov

Ukrainians realized that if they stand united, they are invincible. This is the belief of historian, YouTube blogger, and officer of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade Alexander Alferov. He identified the second lesson as the fact that the people stopped fearing authority and understood that they elect it.

"The first lesson of the Orange Revolution — when the people are united, they are invincible. That is what we felt back then", — says the historian. — "Secondly, no authority can obstruct them. People stopped fearing authority. They realized that authority is truly in their hands because they elect it. The people are the bearers of power… They understood that they are capable of changing the authority. And this is exactly the second lesson of the Orange Revolution… It has already become a part of our Ukrainian genetics," — notes Alferov.

Initially, the revolution was a result of falsification — that is, interference in the electoral rights of the people, Alferov emphasizes. However, during the Orange Revolution, other slogans emerged, tied to Viktor Yushchenko's election promises: eurointegration, followed by points about joining NATO; honesty, lustration.

The third lesson – we must learn not to lose our victories.

"But mentally, Ukrainians have gotten used to winning battles. Often after a battle, we release our victory and do not carry it through to victory in the war. The situation with the Orange Revolution was similar. We won it (the revolution, — Ed.), but then we dispersed. This allowed the counter-elites, Yanukovych, and, in fact, former allies of the President of Ukraine (Viktor Yushchenko, — Ed.) to emerge as counter-elites and even anti-state elites. Thus, all of this led to the fact that after the Orange Revolution, the processes that were discussed on the Maidan did not occur," — says the historian.

Igor Reiterovich, political scientist, PhD in political science, associate professor at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Political scientist Igor Reiterovich believes the main conclusion (and this is the fourth lesson for us) is that a Ukrainian political nation was formed on the Maidan in 2004.

"The main lesson and conclusion we can draw from those events is that in 2004, a Ukrainian political nation began to form on the Maidan. Before that, it was a rather amorphous community, united by certain things but lacking an understanding of any core values and main goals. And it was precisely in 2004 that this community began to take shape. It was indeed political in the sense that its foundation was the question of belonging to Ukraine, understanding what kind of Ukraine these people, who came to the Maidan, wanted to live in." — explains Reiterovich.

The political scientist emphasizes that at the Maidan, the discussion was about a Ukraine that pays great attention to freedom and dignity (first of all, human dignity, and later — national dignity). That is why attempts to falsify the elections were perceived as a very serious insult.

The fifth lesson is about what serves as the main factor for our unification.

"And society reacted to this (the insult — Ed.). We then saw that Ukrainians are very good at uniting when there are existential threats to their existence and for a normal future for them and their children. So this is a key conclusion that led to many other events."

Thus, in 2010, Viktor Yanukovych returned to power. However, the foundations were laid back in 2004, and if that hadn't happened, it is far from certain where we would be now.

Maxim Yali, PhD in political science, academician of the Academy of Political Sciences of Ukraine, professor at NAU

Political scientist Maxim Yali asserts that the lesson (the sixth in our list) of the Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity is that it is not enough to just come out to protest, to defend the right to vote for a democratic choice (Orange Revolution) or to overthrow a dictator (Revolution of Dignity). In essence, this does not lead to a revolution.

"Revolution, from a scientific perspective on this term, implies a radical change in the political and economic development of the state. This did not happen after either the Orange Revolution or the Revolution of Dignity. The system was not changed. The power changed, but the oligarchic system that was created during Leonid Kuchma's presidency remained intact," — states Yali.

The political scientist concludes that in both cases, politicians used the people to achieve their own goals.

"Therefore, the lesson is that it is necessary to monitor politicians not only during mass protests but also after the regime changes, to ensure they fulfill their promises made on the Maidan," — the political scientist concluded.

Alexander Zinchenko, publicist, historian, journalist, and television presenter

Historian Alexander Zinchenko pointed out the unreflected legacy of the Orange Revolution. This is the growth of trust among each other. Trust slowly returned to Ukrainian society after the tense atmosphere of the USSR with denunciations and totalitarianism.

"If someone can write a denunciation about you, you won't trust other people because you might expect something not very good from them… Everything changed radically in 2004, 20 years ago, during and after the Orange Maidan. On all trust-distrust graphs (sociological surveys, — Ed.), distrust plummeted while trust soared to the skies," — says Zinchenko, noting that this level stabilizes and does not decline.

After the full-scale invasion, according to some research results, we have a level of trust comparable to that of Scandinavian countries (higher than similar indicators in Poland and France). This is fantastic progress.

Thus, the seventh lesson of the Orange Revolution is that Ukrainians learned to trust.

"Trust allowed for the creation of horizontal connections that successfully facilitated the Revolution of Dignity, built a volunteer front, and created duplicative structures for state institutions that helped withstand when the state was unable or struggling," — states Zinchenko.

The Maidan also triggered a surge of attention to Ukraine, notes the historian. After all, the Orange Woodstock captured the world's attention, and nonviolent resistance was showcased by all global channels. It was a fantastic promotional event for Ukraine, and it translated into economic terms.

Thus, the lesson the eighth — we must take advantage of the attention and investments.

"In the 5 years following the Orange Revolution, including due to the surge of attention, Ukraine received, at current prices, 10 billion dollars in investments . This is the same amount as in the previous 20 years combined: two terms of President Kuchma, Poroshenko's term, and 5 years of Zelensky. Ukraine has never been able to replicate anything similar since then," — the historian explains.

This influenced all areas of our lives, including economic indicators and income. It was during this period that we gradually worked through the themes of our complex past, overcoming all difficulties on this great and beautiful journey back to ourselves, to who we once were and to whom we are now returning.