You can see Kryvyi Rih’s new slogan “A city as long as life itself” wherever you go in Ukraine’s longest town - posters in the park, street advertising and trolleybuses. And the slogan suits Kryvyi Rih - it takes a while to get from one end of the 120km-long city to the other. The trolleybus drives for an hour before it stops outside the factory administration building of the Kryvyi Rih Iron Ore Plant.
Here, miners and their families are holding protests every day in support of their colleagues, who have spent nearly two weeks 1.5 kilometres underground - fighting for wage increases and decent working conditions. Ukrainian website Political Critique reports from the protests last weekend.
“Guys, is there anyone from the Lenin mine here?” a male voice calls out from the crowd. A few people respond, raising their hands or shouting out “Here!”
