Donetsk People's Republic

Background

In May 2014 Lucian Kim of Slate reported "the Maidan protest, characterized by the Kremlin as a Western-sponsored armed coup, is being crudely imitated in towns across the Donetsk region. "If the guys on the Maidan could revolt, why can't we?" has been the pro-Russian supporters' motto ... ".

Similar attempts to seize the Regional State Administration (RSA) building have been occurring since pro-Russian protests began in the Eastern and Southern regions of Ukraine in the wake of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. Pro-Russian militants previously occupied the Donetsk RSA from 1 to 6 March, before being removed by the Security Service of Ukraine. According to Ukrainian authorities, the seizure of RSAs are part of "a script which has been written in the Russian Federation" to destabilize Ukraine and bring in Russian troops executed by "about 1,500 radicals in each region who spoke with clear Russian accents".

Regional public opinion

In a poll conducted by Kiev International Institute of Sociology in the first half of February 2014, 33.2% of people polled in Donetsk Oblast believed "Ukraine and Russia must unite into a single state".

According to a poll conducted by the Institute of Social Research and Policy Analysis, 66% of Donetsk residents view their future in a united Ukraine, 4.7% support separatism, 18.2% support joining Russia, while 31.6% wanted a united Ukraine with expansion of autonomy for Donetsk region, with only 18.6% in support of the current status A second poll conducted 26–29 March showed that 77% of residents condemned the takeover of administrative buildings, while 16% support such actions. Furthermore, 40.8% of Donetsk citizens support rallies for Ukraine's unity, while 26.5% support rallies which are pro-Russia.

While support for regional independence is low, only a third of polled Donetsk inhabitants identified themselves as "citizens of Ukraine", preferring instead "Russian-speaking residents of Ukraine" or "residents of Donbass".

The New York Times stated on 11 April 2014 that many locals consider it a "crackpot project".

The Kiev International Institute of Sociology released a second study with polling data taken from 8–16 April. 18.1% of Donetsk oblast residents supported the recent armed seizures of administrative buildings in the region, while 72% disapprove of the current actions. Roughly 25% in the Donbas region said they would attend secessionist rallies in favor of joining Russia. Most in Donetsk believe that the disarmament and disbanding of illegal radical groups is crucial to preserving national unity. 12.4% are in favor of Ukraine and Russia uniting into a single state, ; 27.5% in Donetsk were in favor of regional secession from Ukraine to join Russia, 38.4% support federalization, 41.1% support a unitary Ukraine with decentralization of power and broadening of rights of regions, and 10.6% support the current unitary state.

On 15 June 2015, several hundreds protested in the center of Donetsk. The protesters, mostly from the Oktyabrskiy region of the town, called on the military command to remove "Grad" launchers from this residential area that are notoriously used to fire at Ukrainian positions, provoking return fire and causing civilian casualties. Speaking to the crowd Zakharchenko admitted DNR forces are indeed shelling from residential areas (mentioning school 41 specifically), but said that "the punishment of the enemy is everyone's shared responsibility".

In a poll conducted in August 2015 in 19 cities of the Donetsk oblast with 6500 respondents, only 29% supported the DPR and 10% considered themselves to be "Russian patriots".

Demands

According to the Kyiv Post, a number of militants in a standoff with police in Mariupol demanded the abolition of biometric passports and an end to vaccinations.

Denis Pushilin, the self-proclaimed chairman of the republic stated that he does not envision the Donetsk People's Republic becoming an independent state, instead preferring to join a renewed Russian Empire.

11 May independence referendum

On 7 May, separatist rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk said that they would proceed with the referendum that was held 11 May, disregarding Vladimir Putin's appeal to delay it. "The referendum will take place as planned. The ballots have been already arrived at the polling stations," said Vasily Nikitin, from the press service which is organizing the referendum in Luhansk.

The referendum organizers claimed that 89% voted in favor of self-rule, with 10% against, on a turnout of nearly 75%. The results of the referendums were not officially recognised by any government, including those of Ukraine, the United States, the countries of the European Union, and Russia. Germany and the United States stated that the referendums had "no democratic legitimacy", while the Russian government expressed "respect" for the results and urged a "civilised" implementation.

On the day after the referendum, the People's Soviet of the Donetsk People's Republic proclaimed Donetsk to be a sovereign state with an indefinite border and "ask[ed] Russia to consider the issue of our republic's accession into the Russian Federation." It also announced that it would not participate in the presidential election which took place on 25 May. In response, "the Kremlin called for dialogue between the government in Kiev and the south-east regions of the country, suggesting that a Crimea-style annexation of the region for Moscow is not on the cards."

Foundations

On Sunday, 6 April 2014, between 1,000 and 2,000 pro-Russian rebels attended a rally in Donetsk pushing for a Crimea-style referendum on independence from Ukraine. It was claimed by Ukrainian media that the proposed referendum has no status-quo option. After which, 200 separatists (according to Igor Dyomin, a spokesman for Donetsk local police, about 1,000) pro-Russian rebels stormed and took control of the first two floors of the building, breaking down doors and smashing windows. The administration headquarters were empty, with only guards inside, as government officials would not work there on Sundays. The separatists demanded that if an extraordinary session was not held by officials, announcing a referendum to join Russia, they would declare unilateral control by forming a "People's Mandate" at noon on 7 April, and dismiss all elected council members and MPs. The people who voted within the RSA were not elected to the positions they assumed. According to the Russian ITAR-TASS the declaration was voted by some regional legislators; however, there are claims that neither the Donetsk city council nor district councils of the city delegated any representatives to the session.

The political leadership initially consisted of Pavel Gubarev, a former member of the neo-Nazi Russian National Unity paramilitary group and former Communist Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, who was also arrested on charges of separatism and illegal seizure of power but released in a hostage swap. Denis Pushilin self-appointed as chairman of the government, while Igor Kakidzyanov has been named as the commander of the "People's Army". Alexander Borodai, a Russian citizen claiming to be involved in the Russian annexation of Crimea, was appointed as 'Prime Minister'. On 6 April, the group's leaders announced that a referendum, on whether Donetsk Oblast should "join the Russian Federation", would take place "no later than May 11th, 2014." Additionally, the group's leaders have appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to send Russian peacekeeping forces to the region.

On the morning of 8 April, the 'Patriotic Forces of Donbass', a pro-Kiev group that was formed on 15 March earlier that year by 13 pro-Kyiv NGOs, political parties and individuals, unrelated to Donetsk Republic organization who proclaimed independence and seized the council, issued a statement on its Facebook page, "cancelling" the other group's declaration of independence, citing complaints from locals, a move that was generally interpreted by Ukrainian media as coming from the pro-Russian party. Their announcement stated that they would quash the potential state's establishment, cancel the referendum, and, on their part, stated that the declaration is illegal. Rebels reportedly gave up some weapons too. Despite this, the Donetsk Republic organization continued to occupy the RSA and declared themselves the legitimate authority, and upheld all previous calls for a referendum and the release of their leader Pavel Gubarev. In the afternoon of 8 April, about a thousand people rallied in front of the RSA listening to speeches about the Donetsk People's Republic and to Soviet and Russian music.

According to an article from the Kyiv Post on 10 April, most of the protesters were aged 50 or older, while inside the RSA building, many of the occupiers are younger but from other cities like Mariupol, Kherson and Mykolaiv. The occupiers include both men and women. According to "Novosti Donbassa", unstated number of Russian citizens, including one leader of a far-right militant group, have also taken part in the events. The OSCE reported that all the main institutions of the city observed by the Monitoring Team seemed to be working normally as of 16 April. On 22 April, separatists agreed to release the session hall of the building along with two floors to state officials. The 9th and 10th floors were later released on 24 April.

On the second day of the Republic, organizers decided to pour all of their alcohol out and announce a prohibition law after issues arose due to excess drinking in the building.

On 30 April, Donetsk Republic chairman Pushilin flew to Moscow and held a press conference.

On 7 May, Russian president Vladimir Putin publicly asked pro-Russian separatists to postpone the proposed referendum in order to create the necessary conditions for dialogue. Despite Putin's comments, pro-Russia militants calling themselves the Donetsk People's Republic said they would still carry out the referendum. The same day, Ukraine's security service (SBU) released an alleged audio recording of a phone call between a Donetsk separatist leader and leader of one of the splinter groups of former Russian National Unity Alexander Barkashov. Barkashov's following is believed to be in sharp decline since the beginning of the 2000s (decade). In the call, the voice said to be Barkashov insists on falsifying the results of the referendum, that he had communicated with Putin, and that it cannot be postponed. Yuri Vendik of the BBC noted that a 5 May post on Barkashov's social media page recounted a phone call from "our brothers and comrades-in-arms in Donetsk" that sounds exactly like the SBU intercept. Barkashov later confirmed that he was in Donetsk during the alleged taping, and has stated that his group was organizing volunteer troops to fight "the vicious Kiev junta." SBU stated that this tape is a definitive proof of the direct involvement of Russian government with preparations for the referendum.

Ukrainian authorities released separatist leader Pavel Gubarev and two others in exchange for three people detained by the Donetsk Republic.

The DPR has cultivated relations with European far-right and nationalist politicians and writers, including French far-right MEP Jean-Luc Schaffhauser, Italian nationalist Alessandro Musolino, German neo-Nazi journalist Manuel Ochsenreiter, and Emmanuel Leroy, a far-right adviser to Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Front.

The DPR also gets support from western European left wing and communist parties. An antifascist so-called solidarity movement, "Bristol Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity", was created in the U.K which gives support to the DPR, also in Spain, Germany, Sweden and Italy there has been open support for the DPR in some communist groups and parties. In these countries several demonstrations and protests has been held by anti-fascists to show support for Donbass. In Sweden the pro-separatist movement "Donbassföreningen" was created by, among others, veterans from several communist parties. The DPR international militia volunteers from western Europe are mostly Spanish and Italian communists but also groups of Israeli feminists whose open statement is to "fight fascism" has also travelled to the DPR and joined the militia groups.

On 15 April 2014, acting President Olexander Turchynov announced the start of a military counteroffensive to confront the pro-Russian militants, and on 17 April, tensions de-escalated as Russia, the US, and the EU agreed on a roadmap to eventually end the crisis. However, officials of the People's Republic ignored the agreement and vowed to continue their occupations until a referendum is accepted or the government in Kiev resigns. Following the agreement, the Security Service of Ukraine continued to detain Russians entering the country with large amounts of money and military gear.

Peace proposals and stalemate

On 1 September 2014, DPR rebels announced that they would respect Ukraine's sovereignty in exchange for autonomy. But they withdrew this offer a few days later.

On 12 February 2015, the DPR and LPR leaders, Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky, signed the Minsk II agreement. In the Minsk agreement it is agreed to introduce amendments to the Ukrainian constitution "the key element of which is decentralisation" and the holding of elections "On temporary Order of Local Self-Governance in Particular Districts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, based in the line set up by the Minsk Memorandum as of 19 September 2014"; in return rebel held territory would be reintegrated into Ukraine. Representatives of the DPR and LPR continue to forward their proposals concerning Minsk II to the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine. In an effort to stabilize the ceasefire in the region, particularly the disputed and strategically important town of Debaltseve, in February 2015 Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called for a UN-led peacekeeping operation to monitor the compliance with the agreement achieved during the Minsk peace talks.

On 20 May 2015, the leadership of the Federal State of Novorossiya announced the termination of the confederation 'project'.

On 15 June 2015, DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko claimed "Whatever happens in Minsk, DPR is an independent state and will never be a part of Ukraine".

On 31 August 2015, the Verkhovna Rada read the amendments in the Ukrainian construction required by Minsk II for the first time with 265 deputies voting for the amendments. But since then, it has not voted for the required second reading needed to implement the change in constitution. Passage of the amendment in this second reading requires an extended majority of 300 of the Rada's 450 seats, something that The New York Times has described as "all-but-impossible" (since all nationalist parties would vote against the amendments).

In March 2016, the DPR began to issue passports despite a 2015 statement by Zakharchenko that, without at least partial recognition of DPR, local passports would be a "waste of resources." In November 2016 the DPR announced that all of its citizens had dual Ukrainian/Donetsk People's Republic citizenship.

Prominent Russian DPR military leader Arsen Pavlov was killed 16 October 2016 by an IED explosion in his Donetsk apartment's elevator.

On 8 February 2017 (another) well known DPR military commander Mikhail Tolstykh was killed by an explosion while working in his Donetsk office.

Geography

From April to July 2014 the unrecognized republic controlled most of Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast stretching south from the city of Mariupol on the Azov Sea north to Sviatohirsk and Sloviansk near the border with Kharkiv Oblast. However, much of this territory has been brought under control of the Government of Ukraine in the early July 2014 post-ceasefire government offensive and the area under the control of the rebels has been mainly reduced to Donetsk city. In an August 2014 pro-Russian counter-offensive the Donetsk People's Republic, with the help of Russian troops and arms, gained territory again. In the February 2015 Battle of Debaltseve DPR gained again territory. Meanwhile, the Azov battalion and the National Guard of Ukraine captured previously DNR controlled territory near Mariupol for the Ukrainian Government. These battles was the last significant change of territory in the War in Donbass.

(According to a November 2014 separatist estimate, which is roughly in line with the estimate of the Ukrainian government) in November 2014 over 50% of the total Donetsk oblast population, around 1,870,000 people, lived in separatist controlled territory. Although the rebels do not have control of most of Donetsk Oblast, this number is relatively high since the DPR has been controlling major urban areas and cities like Donetsk and Horlivka. As of 17 June 2015, it is estimated that around half of the people living in separatist controlled territory are retired pensioners.

Government

In early April 2014, a Donetsk People's Council was formed out of protesters who occupied the building of the Donetsk Regional Council on 6 April 2014.

The first full Government of the Donetsk People's Republic was appointed on 16 May 2014. It consisted of several ministers who were previously Donetsk functionaries, a member of the Makiivka City Council, a former Donetsk prosecutor, a former member of the special police Alpha Group, a member of the Party of Regions (who allegedly coordinated "Titushky" (pro-Viktor Yanukovych hooligans) during Euromaidan) and Russian citizens. The system of government is described by its deputy defense minister Fyodor Berezin as aiming to build as military communism.

Administration proper in DPR territories is performed by those authorities which performed these functions prior to the War in Donbass. The DPR leadership has also appointed mayors.

On 4 September 2015 there was a sudden change in the DPR government, where Denis Pushilin replaced Andrey Purgin in the role of speaker of People's Council and in his first decision, fired Aleksey Aleksandrov, the council's chief of staff, Purgin's close ally. This happened in absence of Purgin and Aleksandrov who were held at the border between Russia and DPR, preventing their return to the republic. Aleksandrov was accused of "destructive activities" and "attempt to illegally cross the border" by the republic's Ministry of Public Security. Russian and Ukrainian media commented on these events as of yet another coup in the republic's authorities.

In 2016 "Bild" leaked alleged transcripts from meetings of a Russian government commission allegedly controlling the situation in DNR and LNR. The commission, called "Inter-ministerial Commission for the Provision of Humanitarian Aid for the affected Areas in the Southeast of the Regions of Donetsk and Luhansk" is composed of Dmitry Kozak (deputy prime minister of Russia), Sergey Nazarov (deputy minister of economy), Leonid Gornin (deputy minister of finance) and four unnamed officials from FSB. As noted by "Bild", representatives of the two "puppet governments" were never present on the meetings and were merely informed of the commission's decisions. The commission activities focused on establishing "complete Russian control" over the regions, including establishing permanent financial and economical links with Russian Federation, which led the "Bild" authors to conclude that "Moscow is promoting the implementation of the Minsk Agreement only as a show for the West".

Current distribution of posts

On 12 November 2014 Head of the Donetsk People's Republic Aleksandr Zakharchenko decreed that the following people are members of the Council of Ministers.

In 2015, Russian media reported that the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs' website listed the DPR's vice-minister of defense, Sergey Velikorodny, as wanted in Russia for criminal offenses. On 12 May the page was removed without explanation. Velikorodny originally fled to Crimea and then joined Igor Girkin's militia en route to Donetsk. In March 2015 another minister of the republic, Oleg Bugrov, was arrested in Saint Petersburg, officially for economic crimes but the official reason was questioned by independent media in Russia.

Legislature

The parliament of the Donetsk People's Republic is the People's Soviet and has 100 deputies.

Elections

Parliamentary elections of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics were held on 2 November 2014. People of at least 30 years old who "permanently resided" in Donetsk People's Republic the last 10 years were electable for four years. Ukraine urged Russia to use its influence to stop the election "to avoid a frozen conflict". The European Union and the rest of the world did not recognize the elections. Russia on the other hand stated at the time that it "will of course recognise the results of the election"; Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the election "will be important to legitimise the authorities there". Ukraine held the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election on 26 October 2014; these were boycotted by the Donetsk People's Republic and hence voting for it did not take place in Ukraine's eastern districts controlled by forces loyal to the Donetsk People's Republic. Russia's foreign minister stated that the Russian Federation will respect the election; however, it was clarified that while the Russian Federation respects the election it does not mean that Russia is planning on recognizing the results.

On 2 July 2015 Donetsk People's Republic leader Aleksandr Zakharchenko ordered local DPR elections to be held on 18 October 2015 "in accordance with the Minsk II agreements". According to Zakharchenko this move meant that the DNR had "independently start to implement the Minsk agreements". Zakharchenko assured "the elections will take place 'on the basis of Ukraine's Law on temporary self-rule status of individual districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions' in so far as they are not at variance with the constitution and laws of the DPR". The 2015 Ukrainian local elections are set for 25 October 2015. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko responded (also on 2 July 2015) that if this Zakharchenko initiative to local DPR elections would be upheld this would be "extremely irresponsible and will have devastating consequences for the process of deescalation of tension in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions". (On 6 July 2015 the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) leader (LPR) Igor Plotnitsky set elections for "mayors and regional heads" for 1 November 2015 in territory under his control.)

On 6 October 2015 the DNR and LPR leadership postponed their planned elections to 21 February 2016. This happened 4 days after a Normandy four meeting in which it was agreed that the October 2015 Ukrainian local elections in LPR and DPR controlled territories would be held in accordance to the February 2015 Minsk II agreement. At the meeting President of France François Hollande stated that in order to hold these elections (in LPR and DPR controlled territories) it was necessary "since we need three months to organize elections" to held these elections in 2016. Also during the meeting it is believed that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to use his influence to not allow the DPR and Luhansk People's Republic election to take place on 18 October 2015 and 1 November 2015. In the weeks and days before 6 October the election campaign for the planned local DPR election of 18 October 2015 was in full swing. In this campaign 90% of the advertising was done by Donetsk Republic.

On 18 April 2016 planned (organised by the DPR) local elections were postponed from 20 April to 24 July 2016. On 22 July 2016 the elections were again postponed to 6 November 2016. On 2 October 2016 the DPR and LPR held "primaries" in were voters voted to nominate candidates for participation in the 6 November 2016 elections. Ukraine denounced these "primaries" as illegal. On 4 November 2016 both DPR and LPR postponed their local elections "until further notice"; head of the DPR Zahkarchenko added that “In 2017, we will hold elections under the Minsk agreements, or we will hold them independently.”

Political parties

Political parties active in the DPR include Donetsk Republic, the Communist Party of the Donetsk People's Republic, Free Donbass, and the New Russia Party. Donetsk Republic and the Communists endorsed Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko's candidature for the premiership in 2014. In these elections the Communists were banned from participating independently because they had "made too many mistakes" in their submitted documents.

In the internationally unrecognized elections held by the People's Republics in 2014, Donetsk Republic gained a majority in the DPR People's Soviet with 68.53% of the vote and 68 seats. Free Donbass, including candidates from the Russian-nationalist extremist New Russia Party, won 31.65% of the vote and 32 seats.

Problems of governance

OSCE monitors met with the self-proclaimed mayor of Sloviansk, Volodymyr Pavlenko, on 20 June 2014. According to him, sewage systems in Sloviansk had collapsed, resulting in the release of least 10,000 litres of untreated sewage into the river Sukhyi Torets, a tributary of the Seversky Donets. He called this an "environmental catastrophe", and said that it had the potential to affect both Russia and Ukraine.

The DPR imposed martial law on 16 July.

As of May 2014, the Ukrainian Government was paying wages and pensions for the inhabitants of the Donetsk People's Republic. The closing of bank branches led to problems in receiving these, especially since the National Bank of Ukraine ordered banks to suspend financial transactions in places which are not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities on 7 August 2014. Only the Oschadbank continued to function in territories controlled by the DPR, but it also closed its branches there on 1 December 2014. In response, tens of thousands of pensioners have registered their address as being in Ukrainian-controlled areas while still living in separatist-controlled areas, and must travel outside of separatist areas to collect their pensions on a monthly basis.

In October 2014 the Donetsk People's Republic announced the creation of its own central bank and tax office, obliging residents to register under their Donetsk People's Republic and pay taxes to it. Some local entrepreneurs refused to register.

According to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine a number of local mutinies are taken place due to unpaid wages and pensions, the Council claims that on 24 November 2014 the local "Women Resistance Battalion" presented to Zakharchenko an ultimatum to get out of Donetsk in two months.

Since April 2015 the DPR is issuing its own vehicle number plates.

In June 2015 hundreds of people protested in Donetsk against the militants using residential districts as cover for military operation.

On 24 December 2015 the Special Monitoring Mission of the OSCE in Ukraine reported that in the DPR "Parallel 'justice systems' have begun operating". They found this new judiciary to be "non-transparent, subject to constant change, seriously under-resourced and, in many instances, completely non-functional".

In July 2016 over a thousand of people protested in Horlivka against widespread corruption and arbitrary 'taxation' of goods confiscated from small businesses.

Economy

By late October 2014 many banks and other businesses in the Donetsk People's Republic were shut and people were often left without social benefits payments. Since then the territory controlled by it and the Luhansk People's Republic are under a de facto economic blockade from the Ukrainian authorities. Smuggling is widespread. Sources (who declined to be identified, citing security concerns) inside the DPR administration have told Bloomberg News that Russia transfers 2.5 billion Russian rubles ($37 million) for pensions every month. By mid-February 2016 Russia had sent 48 humanitarian convoys to rebel held territory that was said to have delivered more than 58,000 tons of cargo; including food, medicines, construction materials, diesel generators and fuel and lubricants. President Poroshenko called this a "flagrant violation of international law" and Valentyn Nalyvaychenko said it was a "direct invasion".

Reuters reported (late October 2014) long lines at soup kitchens. In the same month in at least one factory, factory workers did not receive wages anymore but only food rations.

By June 2015, due to logistical and transport problems, prices in DPR-controlled territory are significantly higher than in territory controlled by Ukraine. This led to an increase of supplies (of more expensive products and those of lower quality) from Russia.

Mines and heavy-industry facilities damaged by shelling were forced to close, undermining the wider chain of economic ties in the region. Three industrial facilities were under Donetsk People's Republic "temporary management" by late October 2014. By early June 2015 80% of companies that were physically located in the Donetsk People's Republic had been re-registered on territory under Ukrainian control.

A Donetsk People's Republic official often promised financial support from Russia, without giving specific details. Prime Minister Aleksandr Zakharchenko in late October 2014 stated that "We have the Russian Federation's agreement in principle on granting us special conditions on gas (deliveries)". Zakharchenko also claimed that "And, finally, we managed to link up with the financial and banking structure of the Russian Federation". When Reuters tried to get more details from a source close to Zakharchenko its only reply was "Money likes silence". Early October 2014 Zakharchenko had stated "The economy will be completely, if possible, oriented towards the Russian market. We consider Russia our strategic partner", according to Zakharchenko this would "secure our economy from impacts from outside, including from Ukraine". According to Yury Makohon, from the Ukrainian National Institute for Strategic Studies, "Trade volume between Russia and Donetsk Oblast has seen a massive slump since the beginning of 2014". Since Russia does not recognize the legal status of the self-proclaimed republic all the trade it does with it is on the basis of Ukrainian law.

Joining DPR military formations or its civil services has become one of the few guaranties for a stable income in the DPR.

DPR authorities have created a multi-currency zone in which both the rouble (Russia's currency) and the hryvnia (Ukraine's currency) can be used, and also the Euro and U.S. Dollar. Cash shortages are widespread and, due to a lack of roubles, the hryvnia is the most-used currency. According to Ukraine's security services in May 2016 alone the Russian government has passed 19 million USD in cash to fund the DPR administration as well as 35,000 blank Russian passports.

Since late February 2015, the DPR-controlled territory received its natural gas directly from Russia, which is opposed by Ukraine. According to Russia Ukraine should pay for these deliveries while Ukraine claims it does not receive payments for the supplies from the DPR-controlled territory. On 2 July 2015, Ukrainian Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn announced that he "did not expect" that Ukraine would supply natural gas to territory controlled by separatist troops in the 2015 - 2016 heating season. Since 25 November 2015 Ukraine has halted all its imports of (and payments for) natural gas from Russia.

Donetsk People's Republic is setting up its own mobile network operator called Feniks, to be fully operational at the end of the summer of 2015. According to Kyivstar Feniks illegally uses equipment that they officially gave up in territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists on 5 February 2015. Prime Minister Zakharchenko on 18 April 2015 issued a decree stating that all equipment that Kyivstar gave up falls under the control of the separatists in order to "meet the needs of the population in the communication services".

In June 2015 the DPR authorities announced start of military pension payments in US dollars.

Novorossia Ruble

The Novorossia Ruble (Russian: рубль Новороссии; Ruble of the New Russia) is the planned currency to be released into circulation in the Donetsk People's Republic. It will replace the Ukrainian hryvnia. The new banknotes carry the image of Saint George on the front, similar to the Coat of arms of Russia and the coat of arms of Novorossia on the back of the notes. The printed bills are in denominations of 5, 25, and 100 rubles. The first notes were produced in December 2014.

The currency will be issued by the Central Republican Bank of Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. By September 2015 the Central Republican Bank had a governor, a couple of thousand employees and a headquarters it took over from Ukraine’s Ukreximbank; but it did not issue Novorossia Rubles. During the summer of 2015, it set currency rates to make paying in Russian rubles cheaper than hryvnia in an attempt to drive out the Ukrainian currency.

Media

The Donestk People's Republic's main media outlet is the Donetsk News Agency.

Human rights

An early March 2016 United Nations OHCHR report claimed that people that lived in separatist controlled areas were experiencing "complete absence of rule of law, reports of arbitrary detention, torture and incommunicado detention, and no access to real redress mechanisms".

War crimes and abuses on the territory of DPR

An 18 November 2014 United Nations report on eastern Ukraine stated that the Donetsk People's Republic was in a state of "total breakdown of law and order". The report noted "cases of serious human rights abuses by the armed groups continued to be reported, including torture, arbitrary and incommunicado detention, summary executions, forced labour, sexual violence, as well as the destruction and illegal seizure of property may amount to crimes against humanity". The November report also stated "the HRMMU continued to receive allegations of sexual and gender-based violence in the eastern regions. In one reported incident, members of the pro-Russian Vostok Battalion "arrested" a woman for violating a curfew and beat her with metal sticks for three hours. The woman was also raped by several pro-Russian rebels from the battalion. The report also states that the UN mission "continued to receive reports of torture and ill-treatment by the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and volunteer battalions and by the (pro-Russian separatist) armed groups, including beating, death threats, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and lack of access to medical assistance." In a 15 December 2014 press conference in Kiev, UN Assistant Secretary-General for human rights Ivan Šimonović stated that the majority of human rights violations were committed in areas controlled by pro-Russian rebels.

The United Nations report also accused the Ukrainian Army and Ukrainian (volunteer) territorial defense battalions, including the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, of human rights abuses such as illegal detention, torture and ill-treatment of DPR and LPR supporters, noting official denials. Amnesty International reported on 24 December 2014 that pro-government volunteer battalions were blocking Ukrainian aid convoys from entering separatist-controlled territory.

On 24 July, Human Rights Watch accused the pro-Russian fighters of not taking measures to avoid encamping in densely populated civilian areas." It also accused Ukrainian government forces and pro-government volunteer battalions of indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas, stating that "The use of indiscriminate rockets in populated areas violates international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, and may amount to war crimes."

A report by the OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that was released on 2 March 2015 described media postings and online videos which indicated that the pro-Russian armed groups of the Donetsk People's Republic carried out "summary, extrajudicial or arbitrary executions" of captured Ukrainian soldiers. In one incident, corpses of Ukrainian servicemen were found with "their hands tied with white electrical cable" after the pro-Russian rebel groups captured Donetsk's airport. In January one of the self-proclaimed leaders of the Donetsk People's Republic claimed that the rebel forces were detaining up to five "subversives" between the ages of 18 and 35 per day. A number of captured prisoners of war were forced to march in Donetsk while being assaulted by rebel soldiers and onlookers. The report also said that Ukrainian law enforcement agencies had engaged in a "pattern of enforced disappearances, secret detention and ill-treatment" of people suspected of "separatism" and "terrorism". The report also mentions videos of members of one particular pro-Russian unit talking about running a torture facility in the basement of a Luhansk library. The head of the unit in question was the pro-Russian separatist commander Aleksandr Biednov, known as "Batman" (who was later killed) and the "head" of the torture chamber was a rebel called "Maniac" who "allegedly used a hammer to torture prisoners and surgery kit to scare and extract confessions from prisoners."

In September 2015, OSCE published a report on the testimonies of victims held in places of illegal detention in Donbass. In December 2015, a team led by Małgorzata Gosiewska published a comprehensive report on war crimes in Donbass.

Allegations of anti-semitism

On Passover eve, alleged members of the Donetsk Republic, carrying the flag of the Russian Federation, passed out a leaflet to Jews that informed all Jews over the age of 16 that they would have to report to the Commissioner for Nationalities in the Donetsk Regional Administration building and register their property and religion. It also claimed that Jews would be charged a $50 'registration fee'. If they did not comply, they would have their citizenship revoked, face 'forceful expulsion' and see their assets confiscated. The leaflet stated the purpose of registration was because "Jewish community of Ukraine supported Bendera Junta," and "oppose the pro-Slavic People's Republic of Donetsk." The incident was reported by Jewish community members, and security at the synagogue confirmed that the men returned again on 16 April to further press their point.

The authenticity of the leaflet could not be independently verified. On the New York Times, Brendan Nyhan described the fliers as "most likely a hoax" and referred to the media coverage of an "apparently bogus story". According to Efraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the leaflets looked like some sort of provocation, and an attempt to paint the pro-Russian forces as anti-semitic. The chief rabbi of Donetsk stated that the flyer was a fake meant to discredit the self-proclaimed republic, and saying that anti-Semitic incidents in eastern Ukraine are "rare, unlike in Kiev and western Ukraine". France 24 also reported on the questionable authenticity of the leaflets. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz noted in its headline that the flier was "now widely seen as fake". In The New Republic, Julia Ioffe also believes it to be a politically motivated hoax, although the perpetrators remain unknown.

Donetsk People's Republic chairman Denis Pushilin initially confirmed that the flyers were distributed by his organization, but denied any connection to the leaflet's content. Pushilin later denied at a press conference that the DPR had anything to do with the flyer, calling it provocation and a "complete lie".

According to Donetsk city chief rabbi Pinchas Vishedski, the press secretary of the self-proclaimed republic, Aleksander Kriakov, is "the most famous anti-Semite in the region," and believes the men were 'trying to use the Jewish community in Donetsk as an instrument in the conflict.'

According to Michael Salberg, director of the international affairs at the New York City-based Anti-Defamation League, it is currently unclear if the leaflets were issued by the pro-Russian leadership or a splinter group operating within the pro-Russian camp or someone else. National Post reported: "Jewish leaders in the city have said they see the incident as a provocation, rather than a real threat to their community of about 17,000 people."

Ukraine's Security Service announced it had launched an investigation on the matter.

On 17 April, pro-Russian separatists aided by Russian military specialists seized a TV tower providing signals to cities in the Donetsk region. Ukrainian channels were removed from air, with Russian channels given the frequencies. On 20 April, which the Euro-Asian Congress noted was Adolf Hitler's birthday, activists boasted about their imminent "victory" in anti-Semitic terms. "Here, from Sloviansk, we are inflicting a powerful information conceptual blow to the biblical matrix... to Zionist zombie broadcasting." They then presented a lecture by former Russian Conceptual Party Unity leader Konstantin Petrov, who the EAJC described as a "anti-Semitic neo-pagan national-Stalinist sect".

Boruch Gorin, a senior figure in the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, told The Jerusalem Post that rebel leaders "have allowed themselves to employ fully anti-Semitic rhetoric on previous occasions." According to Vyacheslav A. Likhachev, researcher with the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, anti-Semitic statements are part of the "official ideology" of the "people’s republics."

Religious unrest

At first the Donetsk People's Republic adopted a "constitution" which stated that the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate was the official religion of the self declared state. This was changed with the promulgation of a law "on freedom of conscience and religious organisation" in November 2015, backed by three deputies professiong Rodnovery (Slavic native faith), which is very strong in the Donetsk territory and even organised the Svarog Battalion later absorbed into the Vostok Brigade. The new law caused the dissatisfaction of Metropolitan Hilarion of Donetsk and Mariupol of the Moscow Patriarchate church.

Donetsk separatists consider Christian denominations such as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Roman Catholics, and Protestants, as anti-Russian and see them as obstacles in the path of the separatist goal of uniting the region with Russia. To complement this emphasis on Orthodoxy against churches deemed "heretical" and anti-Russian the separatists have been successful in enlisting the widespread support of many people in Donetsk belonging to the indigenous Greek Orthodox community. These are mainly Pontic Greeks settled in Donetsk and elsewhere in southern Russia and Ukraine especially since the Middle Ages, and are in the main descendents of refugees from the Pontic Alps, Eastern Anatolia, and the Crimea, dating to the Ottoman conquests of these regions in the late 15th century. There have been widespread media reports of these ethnic Greeks and those with roots in southern Ukraine now living in mainly Northern Greece fighting with Donetsk separatist forces on the justification that their war represents a struggle for Christian Orthodoxy against the forces of what they often describe as "schismatics" and "fascists".

According to Bishop Jan Sobilo, in Kramatorsk a Catholic chapel was fired upon and parishioners are afraid to attend worship services. Donetsk's Greek Catholic (Uniate) Church priest, Father Tikhon Kulbaka, states he received two text messages with explicit threats. Also, the address of his chapel and his phone number have appeared on pro-Russian websites. Another Catholic priest, Pawel Witek, was kidnapped for a day where he was interrogated and accused of being a "Polish sniper" sent by the Polish government. Members of a Gospel Church were forcibly dispersed at gunpoint by Donetsk insurgents on 23 May. A Protestant clergyman Sergiy Kosyak was held at the RSA building in Donetsk and interrogated, threatened, and beaten in a room marked "NKVD" for several hours by five men and one woman with clubs, batons, and whips. His injuries included a brain concussion. Kosyak stated that "religious intolerance is on the rise" and believed his religion was a motivating factor of the attack.

Patriarch Filaret also spoke about "numerous death threats against the Kiev Patriarchate clergy and believers" in the Donetsk areas controlled by the rebels. Jehovah's Witnesses have also faced widespread discrimination. By January 2015, rebel groups had taken possession of 14 Kingdom Halls in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Metropolitan of Donetsk and Mariupol, Illarion, has refused to take sides in the conflict.

Attacks on Romani people

The News of Donbass reported that members of the Donbass People's Militia engaged in assaults and robbery on the Romani (also known as Roma or gypsies) population of Sloviansk. The armed separatists beat women and children, looted homes, and carried off the stolen goods in trucks, according to eyewitnesses.

"They drove up in several cars and they had automatic weapons and pistols. They began shooting at the windows and they shot the locks off the doors, burst inside and started beating everyone - children, the elderly, men and women," Natalia Vorokuta, a member of a Romani women's cultural outreach group, told Romea.cz while describing events in Sloviansk. "They had to stand with their faces to the wall while the men threatened them and yelled that they had to immediately give them everything they have: Arms, drugs, gold and money. They threw everything they looted and stole into the vans and drove off," Vorokuta said, adding that the pogrom had an 'obviously racial subtext'.

On 23 April, more attacks on Romani were reported in Sloviansk, including a man shot in the leg.

The militants claimed they were acting on orders from 'People's Mayor' and militant leader Vyacheslav Ponomaryov. Reports of the attacks were confirmed by Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, as well as a heightened level of xenophobic rhetoric at separatist rallies. Ponomarev confirmed the attacks and said that they were only against Romani he alleged were involved in drug trafficking, and that he was 'cleaning the city from drugs.'

The European Roma Rights Center reported that on 29 April in Slovyansk, a Romani man was shot while trying to defend his home and remains in a serious condition.

In Sloviansk, Romani have since fled en masse to live with relatives in other parts of the country, fearing ethnic cleansing, displacement and murder. Some men who have decided to remain are forming militia groups to protect their families and homes.

On 9 May, the US mission to the OSCE condemned credible reports of pro-Russian groups establishing "a disturbing and ongoing pattern of anti-Roma violence." The organization called on Russia "to use its influence with pro-Russia separatist groups to cease their destabilizing activity that could be perceived as enabling violence and intimidation targeted at Roma."

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yatsenyuk said that his government would not tolerate incitement of ethnic hatred and would take all legal measures to prevent the import into Ukraine of anti-Semitism and xenophobia. He instructed law enforcement agencies to identify those distributing hateful material and bring them to justice, as well as those involved in the attacks on Romani.

LGBT community

On 10 June, it was reported that armed militants from the Donetsk Republic attacked a gay club in the capital of Donetsk, injuring several. Witnesses said 20 people forced their way into the club, stealing jewelry and other valuables; the assailants fired shots in the club, and several people were hurt.

The constitution of Donetsk People's Republic refers to homosexuality as a "perverted" union and declares that these "perverted" unions are not allowed in DPR and should be punished: "Article 31.3. Any forms of perverted unions between people of the same sex are not acknowledged and will be prosecuted."

Late July 2015 a DPR Ministry of Information spokeswoman stated "there are no gays in Donetsk, as they all went to Kiev".

Prejudice against Ukrainian speakers

On 18 April, Vyacheslav Ponomarev asked local residents of Sloviansk to report all suspicious persons, especially if they are speaking in Ukrainian language. He also promised that the local media will publish a phone number for reporting.

An 18 November 2014 United Nations report on eastern Ukraine stated that the Donetsk People's Republic violated the rights of Ukrainian-speaking children because schools in rebel-controlled areas teach only in Russian.

Abductions

The Committee to Protect Journalists said that separatists had seized up to ten foreign reporters during the week following the Malaysian plane crash. On 22 July 2014, armed men from the DPR abducted Ukrainian freelance journalist Anton Skiba as he arrived with a CNN crew at a hotel in Donetsk. Non-governmental organisations, such as Amnesty International, said that pro-government volunteer paramilitary battalions, such as the Aidar Battalion, Donbas Battalion, Azov Battalion often acted like "renegade gangs", and were implicated in torture, abductions, and summary executions. Amnesty International and the (OHCHR) also raised similar concerns about Radical Party leader and Ukrainian MP Oleh Lyashko and his militia.

Donetsk has also observed significant rise in violent crime (homicide, rape, including underage victims) under the control of separatist forces. In July 2015 local authorities of Druzhkovka, previously occupied by separatist forces, exposed a previous torture site in one of the town's cellars.

In addition to Ukrainian prisoners of war there are reports of "thousands" of prisoners who were arrested as part of internal fighting between various militant groups inside DPR.

Internal fighting

Since 2015 a number of DNR and LNR field commanders and other significant figures were killed or otherwise removed from power, which was attributed to attempts by Moscow to increase the control over the region. This included Cossack commander Pavel Dryomov, commander of Private Military Company (ЧВК) Dmitry Utkin ("Wagner"), Alexander Bednov ("Batman"), Aleksey Mozgovoy, Yevgeny Ishchenko, Andrei Purgin and Dmitry Lyamin (the last two arrested). In August 2016 Igor Plotnitsky, head of LPR, was seriously injured in a car bombing attack in Luhansk. In September 2016 Evgeny Zhilin (Yevhen Zhylin), leader of a separatist "Oplot" unit, was killed in a restaurant near Moscow. In October 2016 a military commander Arseniy Pavlov ("Motorola") was killed by an IED planted at his house. In February 2017 a bomb planted in an office killed Mikhail Tolstykh ("Giwi").

Education

By the start of the 2015-2016 school-year DNR's authorities had overhauled the curriculum. Ukrainian language lessons were decreased from around eight hours a week to two hours; while the time devoted to Russian language and literature lessons were increased. The history classes were changed to give greater emphasis to the history of Donbass. The grading system was changed from (Ukraine’s) 12-point scheme to the five-point grading system that is also used in Russia. According to the director of a College in Donetsk "We give students the choice between the two but the Russian one is taken into greater account". School graduates will receive a Russian certificate, allowing them to enter both local universities and institutions in Russia.

In April 2016 DPR authorities designed "statehood awareness lessons" were introduced in schools (in territory controlled by them).

Donbass

Political reactions in Ukraine

Crimea

In February and March 2014 Ukrainian authorities lost control of Crimea, which was then annexed by Russia as the Republic of Crimea.

Foreign

Political experts

Recognition

The Republic has not been recognized by any state, apart from South Ossetia, which is also a state with limited recognition internationally recognized as part of Georgia. The parliaments of both entities signed a memorandum on cooperation on 10 April 2016.

President Aleksandar Zakharchenko of the Donetsk People's Republic signed the decree recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia on 13 May 2015.

On 18 June 2016 the president of Abkhazia, Raul Khajimba, stated he appreciated Donetsk People's Republic's recognition of Abkhazia. However, he stated that recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republic by Abkhazia would be inappropriate as both are in talks with the government of Ukraine to grant them greater autonomy, not independence, as per the Minsk II agreement.

In September 2016, the Donetsk People's Republic opened a Representative Office in the Czech Republic. In December, another Representative Office was opened in Italy.

On 18 February 2017 President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian authorities to recognize identity documents, diplomas, birth and marriage certificates and vehicle registration plates as issued by the DPR (and the Luhansk People's Republic) until a "political settlement of the situation" in separatists controlled regions based the Minsk II agreement is reached. The decision enabled people living in DPR controlled territories to travel, work or study in Russia. According to the decree it was signed "to protect human rights and freedoms" in accordance with "the widely recognized principles of international humanitarian law." Ukrainian authorities decried the decision as being directly contradictory to the Minsk II agreement and that it "legally recognised the quasi-state terrorist groups which cover Russia's occupation of part of Donbas."