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With Revolution Comes Change: Ukraine's New Hope

October 18, 2015 | ABC News
By
Misha Friedman

Anna Lerygina tries out her new uniform the day before graduating from Kiev Police Academy. Image by Misha Friedman. Ukraine, 2015.

Prospective female police recruits lining up for strength and endurance exams at Kiev Police Academy. Image by Misha Friedman. Ukraine, 2015.

According to Friedman and Masha Gessen in a report for Foreign Policy, "The idea driving Ukraine's current police reform ... is the scramble to create a state out of the mess of transition and corruption that has ruled [Ukraine] since the Soviet Union broke up 24 years ago. In February 2014, Ukrainian government security forces fired live ammunition at protesters, killing close to 100. Pictured, Kiev Police Academy cadets practicing gun safety. Image by Misha Friedman. Ukraine, 2015.

Photojournalist Misha Friedman, in collaboration with writer Masha Gessen, set out in early 2015 to document the creation of Ukraine’s new police force that set out to model itself on a justice system that was void of the corruption that characterized its past. ABC News interviewed Friedman about this project and the training of a new police force.

View the full presentation on ABC.com