He participated in the 2014 Euromaidan protests as a Cossack of the Fourth Maidan Self-Defense Hundred, and was publicly tortured by Berkut officers in January 2014.

[5] Mykhailo Vitaliyovych Havryliuk was born August 15, 1979, in the village of Yarivka, Khotyn Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukrainian SSR.

The events of the Euromaidan opened on November 21, 2013, with a protest in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kyiv, sparked by the Ukrainian government's sudden decision to not sign the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement.

Havryliuk, a Cossack of the Fourth Maidan Self-Defense Hundred, sported a distinctively shaven head with the single lock of hair which originates at the apex of the crown, known as an Oseledets', and signaling his allegiance with the goal of Ukrainian independence.

Soldiers of the Berkut and other members of the state security services forced Havryliuk to strip naked to only his shoes and socks, despite the day's weather (about -10°C or 15°F, with wind speeds of about 5 m/sec or 15 mph).

[10] He was then paraded naked among these officers, who mocked him and took turns posing him for photos and videos on their mobile phones while subjecting Havryliuk's already heavily bruised body to further physical abuse.

"[12] But the video of Havyryliuk, released by an officer evidently unashamed of the incident he had so casually recorded, depicted a human cruelty that was all the more shocking for its unthinking distribution.

In early February 2014, Maidan participants set up a billboard in Rava-Ruska with a painted portrait of Havryliuk and the inscription: "A nation exists as long as there are PEOPLE ready to defend it.

[14] The videos of Havryliuk's dignified composure under torture were subsequently used in documentaries by film director Evgeny Afineevsky, including Pray for Ukraine (2015)[15] and the 2016 Oscar and Emmy nominated Winter on Fire (2015),[16] The Yanukovich government's response was less strong.

[5] On September 10, 2014, at the congress of the Popular Front party, together with the commanders of the volunteer battalions, Havryliuk was included in the Military Council, a special body that will develop proposals to increase Ukraine's defense capabilities as the nation prepared for its first parliamentary elections following Yanukovych's flight to Russia.

Interviewers found Havryliuk's aggressive demeanor on the house floor perplexing, it was not clear if he expected to be taken seriously when he insulted the press corps or fellow parliamentary members.