Fear gripped the entire world when Russia announced war on Ukraine. The latter’s European neighbor has already launched missiles and troops to invade the country and seize control of Chernobyl. But what led to this warfare? It all started out in a peaceful way, with thousands of students demonstrating their views against the current government. No one knew that a peaceful demonstration would turn violent and would last for three whole months. Evgeny Afineevsky’s documentary ‘Winter on fire: Ukraine’s fight for freedom’ gives you clarity into the situation. Live montages with a peppering of hardcore facts constitute the Netflix documentary, Winter on Fire. 

A three-month-long struggle to keep the democratic spirit alive 

Winter on Fire on Netflix captures the events that transpired in 2013. The 2015 documentary was nominated for the Oscars for its portrayal of Government brutality and the citizens’ defiance against the double-crossing government. In November 2013, thousands of activists were protesting against the then-President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to form alliances with Vladamir Putin. The people felt betrayed as they wanted to strengthen their ties with other European nations.

Viktor decided to suppress the activists and widespread backlash from the citizens with violence. The government pushback turned disastrous. The entire thing erupted into a violent outrage. A political revolution engulfed the country for three months from November 2013 to February 2014 . The violent turmoil or now called the Euromaidan protest, resulted in Viktor fleeing the country. However, Putin was able to overtake Crimea. 

Evgeny captured the entire struggle with the sole intention to bring Winter on Fire to wider notice. The Israeli-American-born director had the help of a large crew of cinematographers, both men, and women. Winter on Fire was not easy to film as the crew was dispatched to several places where the flare-ups happened. Nevertheless, the Netflix film offers anecdotes and maps for you to follow the events easily. Angus Wall produced the film along with Netflix.  Winter on Fire premiered at the 72nd International Film Festival first before landing on Netflix.

If you are curious about the documentary, check out what critics have to say about it. Should you watch it, share your thoughts (or review) with us in the comments below.