Ihor Ihorovych Kostenko (Ukrainian: Ігор Ігорович Костенко, Ukrainian pronunciation:[ˈiɦɔrˈiɦɔrɔʋetkɔsˈtɛnkɔʃ]; 31 December 1991 – 20 February 2014) was a Ukrainian journalist, student activist and Wikipedian killed during the Euromaidan events.[1]
Ihor Ihorovych Kostenko was born in Zubrets, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine. He was raised by his grandparents, as his parents worked primarily in Saint Petersburg. As a child he attended Saint Josaphat Buchatskiy, a Ukrainian Catholicparochial school in Buchach. He had one sister, Inna.[2]
Kostenko received his bachelor's degree in 2013 and was a first-year graduate student in geography at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, in Western Ukraine. His thesis was the development of the tourism industry in Buchach.[2] He also worked as a journalist for the online edition of the sports website Sportanalitika (Sport Analytics).[3]
Sketch of Kostenko's Ukrainian Wikipedia article held up during a commemoration on 20 February 2015, the one-year anniversary of his death and of the deadliest day of Euromaidan. The red text at the bottom says, "Nobody's been forgotten, but why the fuck has nobody been punished?"
Kostenko went to Kyiv on 18 February 2014 to take part in the Euromaidan demonstrations, the pro-Western movement that broke out after Ukraine's government refused to ratify its earlier decision to join the European Union (EU). He joined other friends from Lviv in building barricades to protect the protesters. The confrontation between protesters and police worsened in the late hours of 19 February 2014, and snipers began shooting at demonstrators.[1][4]
On 20 February 2014, Kostenko's body was found on the street, near the October Palace. He had gunshot wounds to the head and heart, and multiple fractures to his legs.[2][4]
The day after his death, Kostenko's friend Yuriy Muryn recalled his last communications with Kostenko. "He just called me yesterday and I didn't hear it ring. I called him back today and he didn't answer. I just can't comprehend it," Muryn said. "And during the first riots on Hrushevskoho he sent me his girlfriend's phone number, saying: 'Tell her that I love her, if something happens.' I thought he was joking, but when riots broke out again, he asked: 'Do you remember about my request?'"[2]
On 22 February 2014, a procession of hundreds of people followed his hearse taking Kostenko from Kyiv to Lviv for his funeral. More than 500 mourners held a candlelight vigil in Ternopil.[5] Kostenko and six other victims from Euromaidan were mourned on 23 February at the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lviv.[6]
Kostenko was also named 2014 Wikipedian of the Year. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales announced the award during the 2014 Wikimania Conference in August in London. Wales presented the award to Kostenko's sister, Inna, in September in Kyiv.[8]
The magazine of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine posthumously named Kostenko "Student of the Year." The auditorium at Lviv University was renamed the "Ihor Kostenko Memorial Auditorium" in his honour.[9] An additional plaque was installed at his high school, Saint Josaphat Buchatskiy.[citation needed]
Flowers, photos and candles left on Instytutska Street where he was found
Funeral procession for Ihor Kostenko in Lviv
Crowd at the church for his funeral
Ihor Kostenko's grave at the cemetery
Ukrainian Trident planted in honor of Kostenko and Vasyl Moisei in Ternopil
Plaque commemorating Kostenko at the University of Lviv
