From the article: Dramatic words or violent acts were not how the Ukrainian people ousted an authoritarian leader and his cronies. Civil resistance shredded the legitimacy of a repressive and corrupt government. The nonviolent movement dissolved the consent of the people and the loyalty of regime defenders on which Victor Yanukovych depended.

Ukraine: A Nonviolent Victory (Russian)
Peter Ackerman, Maciej Bartkowski, and Jack DuVall, (2014)
Published by Open Democracy