Abstract
<jats:p>The Role of the Parliamentary Opposition in Euromaidan Euromaidan (Maidan) is referred to as the widespread anti-government socio-political protests in Ukraine against the rule of Viktor Yanukovych, which took place from November 2013 to February 2014. The centre of the protests was Independence Square in Kyiv. A synonym for the word &laquo;square&raquo; in everyday usage is the term &laquo;maidan&raquo;. The term &ldquo;Maidan&rdquo; is, therefore, used in this thesis as a synonym for the anti-government protests (2013&ndash;2014). The reason for starting these protests was the resignation of the Ukrainian authorities from signing an association agreement with the European Union, hence the combination of the phrases &laquo;Euro&raquo; and &laquo;Maidan&rdquo; gave rise to the term &laquo;Euromaidan&raquo;. In Ukraine, the term &laquo;Revolution of Dignity&raquo; was mainly used to describe the anti-government protests of November 2013 &ndash; February 2014. This publication is devoted to analysing the role of the parliamentary opposition in Euromaidan. Euromaidan came as a surprise to the parliamentary opposition parties (All-Ukrainian Union &laquo;Batkivshchyna&raquo;, Vitali Klitschko&rsquo;s Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reforms, All-Ukrainian Union &laquo;Svoboda&raquo;) and their leaders, who were focused on preparing for the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for 2015. Although the parliamentary opposition parties were not the initiators of Euromaidan, they ultimately became the main beneficiaries of its outcomes (the disintegration of the ruling camp, the flight of Victor Yanukovych and his supporters to Russia, etc.), assuming power in the state. On the one hand, the political opposition did not have full control over Euromaidan, but on the other hand, having organizational, financial, diplomatic, ideological and other resources, it used its potential to achieve its political goals.</jats:p>