There are plenty of propositions in the “world wide web” about mass actions organization: meetings, marches, political pickets. Companies, which organize such actions, are mostly advertising companies. They provide a number of services, including painting placards, public speeches prepared by professional speakers and even scuffle with police for extra payment. Informator.lg.ua decided to find out – how much does it cost to organize a mass meeting in Kiev?

Before Maydan and after

Maydan 2013-2014 changed people’s minds and political culture of Ukraine.

People have realized that it is not enough today to go out to squares to achieve changes in government. Intensive everyday work of hundreds of thousands of people is necessary for fundamental changes in society. We need effective managers, real public control over the government and authorities, social elevators, modern legislature and many other things.

But all this things are needed under conditions that we try to achieve real changes. As we were convinced last year – not all people really want those changes.

Former government of Ukraine, represented by the “Party of Regions”, used paid out actions to impose political pressure over competitors very often.

The author of this text knows about “honorariums” of participants of “Forum of National Unity in 2007”, “Antimaydan” in 2013-2014, etc.

Many residents of Eastern Ukraine are still sure that the main “paid out” action was the Euromaydan itself. First of all, those are people, who made their vision of the Maydan according to a TV picture and politically committed information in media.

Meeting of miners in Kiev in April, 2015.

Many journalists called this action paid out.

 “Authorities, who came after the Maydan, decided to ignore any meetings at all. But those actions are organized by someone, which means that they mean something … For example, influential ex-members of the “Party of Regions” can use such actions as an article of commerce with the new government”, — blogger Vsevolod Filimonenko said, who writes about mass actions in the capital.

Vsevolod Filimonenko (on the left)

Today political reality of Ukraine has one common feature with “before-Maydan” realities.

Many chairpersons on high posts still don’t notice a separate politician, public activist or a volunteer before he or she prove one’s importance or authority. It can be done by several ways.

A difficult way – to do real things: help IDPs, ATO fighters; participate in round tables and working groups; develop real mechanisms of state reformation; provide legal aid and protect interests of average people in courts and officials’ offices. But, unfortunately, if you’ve chose this way – it doesn’t guarantee that someone will notice you and listen to you.

But there is also another way to earn political weight and influence, protect your business interests or become famous. You should gather a few hundreds of people (or thousands), paint placards, think up slogans, invite journalists and conduct a mass action widely covered by media. It is desirable to hold against the walls of some administrative building. Demands to representatives of the government are not so important in this case. The main thing is to write effective slogans and receive “right” response from journalists.

How much does it cost to organize an action in Kiev?

Informator decided to find out prices for such services in the capital and we called to a few advertising companies, explaining that our action will be politically oriented and will be organized near the Administration of the President of Ukraine.

Some companies refused to help us. Some agreed immediately.

Representative of one agency told us about prices and said that the company will do everything – from placards to coordination with City Administration. Of course for extra charge.

100 USD — for permission to hold action in place and at time chosen by the client. This price seemed too high, because permissions for actions are simply written notifications, what doesn’t cost so much.

200 USD – organization of the action – transportation of participants, placards and banners, megaphones, plots ant etc.

Other advertising company offered us to make everything for 200 USD + “honorariums” for participants.

An hour of “activist’s” work costs 60 hrivna. It means that 100 participants will cost 6000 hrivna without “organization” expenses.

Vsevolod Felimonenko reported to Informator that average price is 80-100 hrivna per hour – hour and a half.

Who organize “paid out” meetings?

Most often clients are opponents of current government.

“I suppose that today political forces in power don’t risk their reputation for creation of a “picture”. There is “Youtube”, social networks and it is not difficult to understand whether people organized a rally for money or not. Moreover, current authorities have powerful media resource to avoid this instrument”, — Vsevolod Filimonenko considers.

We would add here, that another “customer” of paid out rallies and pickets can be a foreign country, interested in defamation of Ukraine and its power institutions. The way how Russian propaganda media covers “rallies” gives us such idea. Foreign country can finance those actions through its “satellites” on the territory of Ukraine.

How to identify “venal” activists?

Blogger Vsevolod Filimonenko considers that it is easy to distinguish “paid out” meetings from “ideological”.

“You can just take a video camera and ask people with placards about their goals. If people really came to protect their believes, they will never turn away, be rude, but will try to explain their position. If person got 100 hrivna – he/she doesn’t feel comfortable and will hide and hum and haw.

I faced the fact that for small meetings (200-300-400 participants) people hire same participants. For instance, yesterday they organized a rally to give Odessa a status of Porto-Franko, and today they came to picket the Cabinet of Ministers with similar stupid demand…”, — our interlocutor summed up.

Freedom of peaceful assembly – is inevitable feature of any democratic society and a fundamental right, stipulated for by the Constitution of Ukraine.

The fact that people in Ukraine don’t afraid to go out to streets and protect their rights is very positive feature of our society. And the fact that other people are ready to pay for this proves that rallies still have political influence.

Meetings and peaceful pickets – are not the worst way to protect one’s rights and believes. So let’s respect them, or at least make allowance.

Aleksey Chernov for the Informator.lg.ua