Maidan Nezalezhnosti - Independence Square

Maidan Nezalezhnosti (literally: "Independence Square") is the main square of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. "maidan" is originally a Persian word which means "square". Maidan Nezalezhnosti was completely rebuilt in 2001-2002. The old look of the square with its many fountains was replaced by a new, modernist look with bronze compositions (featuring the statues of legendary founders of Kyiv Kyi, Shchek, Khoryv and Lybid, folklore hero Mamay, and the city's protector Archangel Michael) and glass domes. A mostly underground shopping mall, Globus, was built under Maidan Nezalezhnosti as part of a huge new underground market complex under the city center.

The biggest protests of the "Ukraine without Kuchma" (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.