Ukraine's opposition supporters have made orange the unmistakable signature of their movement, wearing it, waving it, and using it to mark protest boundaries across the country.
The color's roots in the movement go back to 2002, when Viktor Yushchenko's liberal party, Our Ukraine, used bright orange prominently in its legislative election campaign materials. By the time his presidential campaign launched, the choice was already settled.
Campaign organizers distributed orange ribbons in the days before the first round of voting on 31 October, attaching them to subway cars and sharing them widely. A psychotherapist active in the movement explained the appeal: orange suggests peaceful, constructive change, without the aggressive connotations of red.
Supporters also contrast their color favorably with the blue and white associated with rival Viktor Yanukovich, arguing that blue feels cold and white disappears against a snowy backdrop.
The orange wave has provoked sharp reactions in Yanukovich's strongholds in eastern Ukraine, where the word for the color has reportedly become local slang for criminals. Yanukovich's wife, Lyudmila, drew applause at a Donetsk rally when she dismissed the opposition campaign as a US-driven "orange orgy."
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in December 2004, in its own words.