Vast crowd marks Orange Revolution anniversary

“We are on the right path, a path of justice, a path of freedom … We achieved things which no-one before us had, and I am proud of this,” he said.

“Each of us paid for what we call freedom. I paid my price, each of you paid your price,” said Yushchenko, his face still pockmarked from the massive dioxin poisoning he suffered during last year’s bitterly-contested campaign.

Today’s scene resembled the massive gatherings that broke out on November 22, 2004, to protest at fraud in an election that Yushchenko purportedly lost.

The gatherings, which swelled above 100,000 at times, lasted until Yushchenko was inaugurated in late January, having won a rerun of the election after the initial results were annulled by the Supreme Court.

Snow fell heavily on the Independence Square crowd, bundled up in scarves of orange as they stood listening to an array of pop groups and waiting for Yushchenko to make his speech.

Chants of “Yushchenko! Yushchenko!” greeted the president as he stepped on to the stage surrounded by his family, all decked out in orange.

“Let all the disappointed remember why we stood here a year ago … not for salaries, pensions or a piece of sausage, not even for the person whom we made a president – but for freedom,” interior minister Yuriy Lutsenko, one of the leaders of last year’s revolution, told the crowd.

Lutsenko and other speakers called on all members of the former Orange Team to put aside quarrels and problems and reunite ahead of the March parliamentary election.

“It was the best time of my life,” said Anatoliy Brychenko, a 43-year-old engineer, who spent 17 days and nights in an opposition tent camp last year.

“I’m a realist … too little time has passed, but I’m sure we’re on the right path,” he said.

Yushchenko, who defeated Kremlin-favoured Viktor Yanukovych, promised to bring Ukraine closer to the West and restore trust in this ex-Soviet republic’s government.

But a corruption scandal that touched some of his most senior aides earlier this year has left many Ukrainians feeling disenchanted.

“They didn’t justify people’s hopes, that’s true, but we do have more democracy now,” said school teacher Iryna Rytikova, who held an orange balloon.

Yushchenko’s party representatives handed out orange scarves in the square earlier in the day, and a huge screen showed videos from last year’s revolution.

Speaker after speaker promised to uphold the ideals of last year’s protests, but the square did not fully come alive until the arrival of Yushchenko’s one-time Orange Revolution ally and now-rival Yulia Tymoshenko.

With a roaring greeting, the heroine of last year’s revolution – she became prime minister but was fired by Yushchenko in September – urged her former allies to reunite to prevent losing presidential candidate Yanukovych returning to power in March.

“We thought the revolution was a fight we’d win at once, but it turned out to be only the first assault,” said Tymoshenko, who was wearing just a hint of orange on her ivory coat.

Yushchenko, whose speech followed Tymoshenko’s, greeted his one-time ally with a kiss on the cheek.

But when the crowd broke into chants of “Yulia” as Yushchenko began speaking, he stopped and said: “Keep chanting ’Yulia’ again. I will listen, then I will start my speech.”

When they persisted in chanting her name, Yushchenko snapped: “Be polite” and the crowd grew silent.

Many in the crowd had hoped for a reconciliation between the one-time allies. But, after Tymoshenko used her time to make what sounded like a political stump speech, Yushchenko responded by criticising the way she had run the government.

Tymoshenko stood behind him, her arms crossed. She appeared to be crying.