More broadly, the state response to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, Russification, and the Revolutions of 1989 had generated increased distaste for First Secretary Volodymyr Shcherbytsky's government throughout Ukraine.
[3] The failures of Perestroika frustrated workers,[4] and widespread shortages for basic necessities like soap led to tensions reaching a boiling point.
In addition to these economic demands, however, many miners were sympathetic to the cause of Ukrainian independence, viewing it as a means of achieving self-governance from the Soviet Union.
[7] Facing increasingly-agitated rhetoric from miners and a Communist Party of the Soviet Union that sought to remove the last vestiges of Brezhnev's rule, Shcherbytsky chose to resign rather than continue governing Ukraine in September 1989.
Rukh) organisation,[6] the strikes brought the conflict to a new level, calling for Gorbachev's resignation, the dissolution of the Council of People's Deputies, and recognition of the 1990 Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine.
[11] Following the 1991 Soviet coup attempt and subsequent Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, strikes did not come to an end, although they decreased in strength and focused primarily on being paid unpaid wages.
[9] Popular anger was directed at President Leonid Kravchuk's refusal to liberalise the economy, with a report by The New York Times describing strike leaders as sounding like "born-again capitalist[s]".
[14] Miners called for their pay to be doubled and for economic connections with foreign countries (particularly Russia, a vital supplier of fuel to Ukraine) to be strengthened, as well as for a referendum on both the Verkhovna Rada and Kravchuk's presidency.
[15] Conceding to the demands of the strikes, Kravchuk's government first promoted Yukhym Zvyahilsky,[14] a member of the Donetsk Clan of oligarchs,[16] as First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine.
The main rallying cry of the protests, that residents of the Donbas "can feed themselves", has been described as either based on opposition to Ukrainian independence and support for Russophilia[14] or as a broader call for decentralisation involving all of Ukraine.
[12] Other issues included a proposal by the World Bank to shut down 114 of Ukraine's 227 active mines in order to restore profitability to the industry.
[12] Beginning in 1998, a convoy of about 5,000 miners from the western Donbas and Pavlohrad began to march towards the city of Dnipropetrovsk, seeking payment of 8–9 months' worth of wages.
In an effort to counter government propaganda, an independent television channel led by former miners from Pavlohrad also travelled alongside the convoy, interviewing strikers.
The incident has sometimes been incorrectly referred to as the first instance of law enforcement attacking a peaceful protest in Ukraine,[13] but it was preceded by the 1995 Funeral of Patriarch Volodymyr of Kyiv.
The next year, strikes did not take place, owing to the payment of wages, the fatigue of workers, and disagreements among the leaders of independent trade unions.