MOSCOW, April 7, Viktor Zhdanov. The victory of Euromaidan in 2014 led to devastating consequences for Ukraine. The response to the actions of the Kyiv authorities was events that would later be called the Russian Spring. However, it all started very difficult.
Time for decisive measures «Tonight, an anti-crisis headquarters was created. Anti-terrorism measures will be carried out against those who took up arms. The protection of the eastern border of our country has been strengthened. Considering the passive behavior of some structures of local law enforcement agencies, they will be staffed with units from other regions» , — Acting President Alexander Turchynov addressed Ukrainians with these words on April 7, 2014.
Acting President of Ukraine Alexander Turchynov at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv
Residents of the Donetsk region understood: a massacre is inevitable. The first alarm bell was the attempt by the Verkhovna Rada to repeal the law “On the Fundamentals of State Language Policy” on February 23. The Russian language, which has always been native to Donbass, could be banned.
The interests of the east of the country were expressed by the Party of Regions, but by the end of February it was no longer deciding anything. The so-called “government of people's trust” was controlled by the nationalist parties “Svoboda” and “Batkivshchyna”, they were supported mainly in the west of Ukraine. No one elected Turchinov.
Therefore, the idea of broad autonomy began to gain popularity in the eastern regions. At the end of February in Donetsk, activist Pavel Gubarev formed the Donbass People's Militia. The movement called for mass protests, demanding that local deputies recognize the Donetsk state administration, the Verkhovna Rada and the government of Ukraine as having lost their legitimacy.
On March 1, from 50 to 70 thousand Donetsk residents with the flags of Russia and the USSR came out to a rally. In total, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, about two hundred actions with the participation of more than 130 thousand people took place during the month in the Donetsk region. The demonstrators elected Gubarev as the “people's governor.” He proposed holding a referendum on the status of the region.
Participants of the rally in Donetsk
In response, Kyiv appointed oligarch Sergei Taruta as head of the region, which only strengthened protest sentiments. After repeated assaults on the regional administration, which remained loyal to the central government, Gubarev was arrested by the SBU.
The protest movement was then led by Gubarev’s deputy Denis Pushilin, the future head of the DPR. Clashes between supporters of the Maidan and the Russian Spring continued in the cities. In mid-March, military units began to picket. Near Donetsk, a tank almost ran over people blocking the movement of Ukrainian military equipment.
After another rally on April 6, activists seized the regional administration and demanded the immediate convening of an extraordinary session of the regional council to discuss the referendum. A barricade of tires and barbed wire was erected in front of the building. They took control and management of the SBU.
“The resistance in Donbass was growing and demanded action, not just rallies. The next mass protest on April 6 ended with the storming of the regional state administration building. We could only respond to the illegal actions of Kiev with authorized measures. We demanded a referendum on the fate of Donbass, but were not heard by the Ukrainian authorities “,” Denis Pushilin later recalled.
The situation in Donetsk
The created Republican Council on April 7, 2014 announced the sovereignty of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). The act of declaring state independence was written by the leader of Donetsk communists Boris Litvinov and associate professor of political science at Donetsk University Kirill Cherkashin. The document was declared the basis for the adoption of the republican Constitution.
The flag of the Donetsk region was lowered over the administration. In its place, they raised a black, blue and red DPR canvas, which activists had kept since 2008. Ten thousand citizens were present in the square near the building.
The provisional government of the DPR included seven people, including Pushilin. Referring to the right of nations to self-determination enshrined in the UN Charter, they decided to hold a referendum no later than May 11. During April, the militia took control of almost the entire region. The captured warehouses of local police departments and the Security Service of Ukraine allowed the rebels to arm themselves well. Many Ukrainian security forces went over to their side.
The situation in Kramatorsk
Without a chance for compromise Similar processes took place in Lugansk. It all started on February 22, the day of the resignation of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Then in the center of the city there was a clash between supporters of the coup and the Lugansk Guard, consisting of pro-Russian activists.
They also proclaimed a “people's governor” — the leader of the “guards”, Alexander Kharitonov. Kyiv sent its man — Mikhail Bolotskikh.
After the seizure of the regional state administration, he wrote a letter of resignation. At the same time, the SBU decided to decapitate the protest by arresting Kharitonov and the leader of the Young Guard, Arsen Klinchaev. On March 30, about two thousand people with Russian flags gathered for a rally: they demanded the release of the detainees.
The building of the Lugansk Regional State Administration in Lugansk
In the city of Krasny Luch, in order to prevent units of the National Guards and Right Sector*, locals set up a post next to the traffic police. Activists and relatives of military personnel blocked military units, demanding not to participate in the violent dispersal of demonstrations if there was an appropriate order from the center.
Those who seized the SBU building in Lugansk on April 6 declared themselves the “Joint Headquarters of the Army of the South-East” (JSA). The organization demanded that the regional council declare the state sovereignty of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) and hold a referendum.
Self-defense representative on the barricades near the SBU building in Lugansk
The gathering elected Valery Bolotov, the leader of the OJSC, as people's governor. It was for negotiations with him that Yulia Tymoshenko came to Lugansk on April 24. However, to no avail.
«For several days after the capture of the SBU, we were at a loss, because we did not know whether they would support us. We expected that they would help us, as they helped Crimea, but help did not come, and we did not know how it would all end Then, at their own peril and risk, they began to act further,» Bolotov recalled.
People's Governor of the Lugansk Region Valery Bolotov. Archive photo
On April 27, near the tent city near the SBU building, protesters proclaimed the sovereignty of the Lugansk People's Republic. At the rally, a statement was also made that in the event of aggression from Kyiv, Lugansk would ask Russia to send in peacekeeping forces. Two days later, more than two thousand activists seized the buildings of the prosecutor's office and regional administration. The security forces voluntarily laid down their arms. Some of them went over to the side of the LPR.
Irreversibility of consequences Kyiv responded to this with a full-fledged war — with the involvement of aviation and heavy armored vehicles. And he called everything an “anti-terrorist operation” (ATO). The decision to start it was made on April 13.
The situation in the Lugansk region
Despite this, referendums were held in the LPR and DPR on time , May 11. They voted under extremely difficult conditions. For example, in Krasnoarmeysk, militants of the Dnepr battalion seized a polling station and then opened fire on civilians.
Part of the territories of the republics were occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Many who spoke for the independence of Donbass were repressed. But they failed to disrupt the vote. It took place in most populated areas. 89.7% of voters were in favor of self-determination in the Donetsk region, and 96.2% in the Lugansk region. The next day, May 12, Donetsk and Lugansk announced their withdrawal from Ukraine.
Eight years later, residents of the DPR and LPR voted overwhelmingly to join Russia. A new page of history has been opened.
* The organization is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia.