1 The Legacy Of The Revolution On Granite Olga Onuch New Eastern Europe, 2017 Lead: The 1990 Revolution on Granite was an innovative contentious performance. The protest created new boundaries for the discourse of contention in independent Ukraine, which is represented in an ongoing struggle between national and liberal claims. It also created a new generation of political leaders who go on to inspire, train and mentor subsequent generations of mass mobilisation in Ukraine. Ukraine’s Revolution on Granite in 1990 was undoubtedly part of a larger protest wave that was observed in Eastern Europe between 1989 and 1991. This wave had its roots in human rights activism and the rise of student and labour unionism across the region – which led to the creation of social movement organisations such as Charter 77, Solidarność, and the Helsinki Human Rights groups. Following a wave of repressions, activist leaders in Czechoslovakia, Poland and elsewhere in the region were forced underground, slowing their activities and co-ordination. Gorbachev’s introduction of perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness) policies in 1985-1987 created political opportunity for a fresh wave of mobilisation in the region. In the communist states, these policies provided the already active Charter 77 and Solidarność with new openings for collective action and allowed them greater freedom to mobilise a broader cross-cleavage network of potential participants in their respective countries.