THE EARLY LVIV EUROMAIDAN (21–30 NOVEMBER 2013): MOBILIZATION, ACTORS, AND INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF PROTEST

Abstract

The article examines the initial phase of the Lviv Euromaidan (21–30 November 2013) as an autonomous stage in the regional wave of protest mobilization in Western Ukraine. The study analyzes the mechanisms that triggered the pro-tests, the role of individual and collective leaders – students, civic initiatives, clergy, entrepreneurs, local authorities, political forces, and media – and the early forms of institutionalization that transformed spontaneous gatherings into an organized civic movement. Special attention is paid to the moral and value frameworks of «dignity» and «European choice», which structured participants’ motivation and identity. The research traces the emergence of procedural and ritual dimensions of protest such as daily assemblies, alternat-ing shifts, anthem singing, symbolic marches, and the creation of coordination bodies in the form of strike committees and volunteer points. The method-ological approach combines historical-systemic and chronological methods with the political process theory (C. Tilly, S. Tarrow), integrating resource mobilization and frame analysis to explain the dynamic between structure and agency. The findings demonstrate that within ten days the Lviv protest evolved from a loosely coordinated initiative into a structured movement with internal rules, predictable routines, and a stable organizational core. Lviv acted as a regional hub that ensured the continuity of local mobilization and supported the central Euromaidan in Kyiv with human, logistical, and material resources. The study concludes that the procedural organization, ritualization of collective action, and interaction among academic, civic, religious, and business environments provided the basis for the endurance and sustainability of the protest during the later stages of the Revolution of Dignity.