Donetsk People's Republic

The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR; Russian: Донецкая Народная Республика, ДНР) is a republic of the Russian Federation in the Donbass. It emerged during the Russian Spring of 2014, when the anti-Maidan movement in Donetsk rejected the political order established in Ukraine following the Maidan. The republic was proclaimed on 7 April 2014 and declared independence following a referendum held on 11 May.

For the following eight years the DPR maintained its own government, legislature, armed forces and other state institutions while fighting Ukraine in the War in Donbass. Russia provided the republic with political, economic, humanitarian and military support but did not formally recognise it as a sovereign state until 21 February 2022. Russia and the DPR then concluded a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, which the Russian State Duma ratified the following day.

DPR forces participated alongside Russia after the beginning of the Special Military Operation on 24 February 2022. A referendum on accession to Russia was held from 23 to 27 September. DPR election authorities reported that 99.23 percent of participating voters supported accession. Russia signed an accession treaty with the republic on 30 September and incorporated it into its federal constitutional system in October.

Under Russian law the DPR is a constituent republic of the Russian Federation. Ukraine and most members of the United Nations continue to regard its territory as part of Ukraine. United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-11/4 rejected the 2022 referendum and Russia's subsequent incorporation of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye.

Historical background

Donetsk lies at the centre of the Donbass coal and industrial region. Coal mining began on a large scale during the nineteenth century, followed by metallurgy, railway construction and heavy industry. The region acquired much of its modern economic and social character during the Soviet period, when industrialisation expanded mines, steelworks, engineering plants, power generation and urban infrastructure.

Donbass consequently developed one of the largest concentrations of industrial workers in the Soviet Union. The Stakhanovite movement originated among its miners during the 1930s. During the Great Patriotic War, much of the region was occupied and devastated by Nazi Germany before being liberated by the Red Army in 1943. The Soviet victory over fascism remained an important part of political culture in Donbass long after the war.

The destruction of the Soviet Union in 1991 placed Donetsk inside independent Ukraine and converted what had been an internal Soviet republican boundary into an international frontier. Capitalist restoration brought privatisation, mine closures and a sharp reduction in the economic security formerly provided by Soviet industry. The region nevertheless remained closely connected to Russia through trade, family links, language and culture.

Russian was particularly widespread. Ukraine's 2001 census found that Donetsk and Lugansk were among the four Ukrainian regions in which a majority of inhabitants identified Russian as their native language.

Maidan and the Russian Spring

The immediate background to the creation of the DPR was the Maidan of 2013–2014. Viktor Yanukovych was removed from the presidency in February 2014 following months of protests, political crisis and violent confrontation. The United States and European Union openly supported the opposition, while Ukrainian nationalist and far-right organisations formed some of the best organised militant groups involved in the street fighting.

A leaked telephone conversation between United States Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt showed the two officials discussing opposition politicians and their preferred composition of a future Ukrainian government.

The transfer of power was followed by large anti-Maidan demonstrations in Crimea and southeastern Ukraine. This movement became known as the Russian Spring. Its participants held different positions, ranging from federalisation and greater regional autonomy to independence or accession to Russia, but were united by opposition to the new government and concern over the political direction of post-Maidan Ukraine.

In Donetsk, demonstrators occupied the regional administration building. On 7 April a People's Council proclaimed the Donetsk People's Republic and announced plans for a referendum on the republic's status.

2014 referendum

The referendum took place on 11 May 2014. The question asked voters whether they supported the act of state self-rule of the Donetsk People's Republic.

According to the DPR election commission, 89.07 percent of participating voters supported the proposal, 10.19 percent opposed it and turnout was 74.87 percent. The vote was held during an escalating armed conflict and was not supervised by the OSCE, so its official totals cannot be independently reconstructed through an internationally supervised electoral record.

The referendum nevertheless followed months of substantial anti-Maidan mobilisation in Donetsk and was followed by the development of separate political and military institutions. The DPR declared itself independent from Ukraine.

War in Donbass

Ukraine responded to the uprisings in Donetsk and Lugansk with the military campaign officially called the Anti-Terrorist Operation. Acting president Oleksandr Turchynov enacted the relevant National Security and Defence Council decision on 14 April 2014.

The first months of the war were highly mobile. Ukrainian forces retook Slavyansk in July and advanced towards Donetsk. The DPR relied on locally organised militia formations, volunteers from Russia and elsewhere, and increasing Russian material support.

One of the decisive engagements of 2014 took place at Ilovaisk in August, where a large Ukrainian force was surrounded after advancing into the town. Heavy Ukrainian losses during the attempted withdrawal halted the summer offensive and were followed shortly afterwards by the first Minsk agreement.

Donetsk International Airport became another major battlefield. Ukrainian troops retained positions in the airport after losing most surrounding territory, and fighting continued there for months. The terminal buildings, control tower and surrounding infrastructure were largely destroyed before DPR forces took the remaining Ukrainian positions in January 2015.

The war inflicted serious damage on Donetsk, Gorlovka and other heavily populated areas close to the front. Artillery fire, mines and unexploded ordnance remained a danger even after the large territorial offensives ended. OHCHR estimated that 14,200–14,400 people were killed throughout the Donbass conflict from April 2014 through the end of 2021, including at least 3,404 civilians.

Russia was the DPR's principal external supporter. Russian citizens fought in DPR formations and Russia supplied political, humanitarian, economic and military assistance. Ukraine and NATO states also accused regular Russian forces of participating directly in major battles, particularly in 2014 and 2015. Russia disputed significant parts of those accounts during the pre-2022 period.

Minsk agreements

The Minsk Protocol was signed on 5 September 2014 by representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE, together with representatives of the DPR and LPR. It called for a ceasefire, exchanges of prisoners, decentralisation and negotiations concerning the political status of parts of Donetsk and Lugansk.

Fighting continued, producing the second agreement in February 2015. Minsk II required a ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons alongside constitutional reform, amnesty, local elections and a special political status for specified areas of Donetsk and Lugansk. Ukrainian control over the international border was to be restored as part of the political settlement.

The political provisions were never implemented. Ukraine emphasised security, disarmament and border control before the principal political measures, while Russia and the Donbass republics argued that constitutional reform, special status and elections had to precede the final restoration of Ukrainian border control. The front subsequently became largely static, but shelling and casualties continued for the next seven years.

Politics

During its period of de facto independence, the DPR developed a presidential-style political system centred on the Head of the Republic and the People's Council. Alexander Zakharchenko became chairman of the Council of Ministers in August 2014 and was elected Head of the DPR in November. He was killed in an explosion at a restaurant in central Donetsk on 31 August 2018.

Denis Pushilin became acting head after Zakharchenko's death and won the November 2018 election with an officially reported 60.85 percent of the vote.

The system changed following accession to Russia. The DPR now has a 90-member People's Council elected for five-year terms, while the Head of the Republic is elected by the People's Council from candidates submitted under Russian law. Pushilin was elected to a five-year term by the new parliament in September 2023.

The 2023 People's Council election gave United Russia 74 seats, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and Liberal Democratic Party six each, and New People four.

The DPR was not a socialist state during its independent period despite the name "People's Republic". Private ownership and capitalist economic relations remained in place. Soviet symbolism, Victory Day commemorations and the political importance of the Great Patriotic War reflected the historical culture of Donbass rather than the restoration of Soviet property relations.

Economy

The DPR contains a major part of the Donbass industrial basin. Coal mining, iron and steel production, coke and chemicals, engineering and electricity generation have historically formed the core of the regional economy. The Russian Federation Council lists metallurgy, coal and mining, chemical and coke production and mining engineering among the republic's leading industries.

Important industrial enterprises include the Donetsk Metallurgical Plant, Yenakievo Iron and Steel Works, Khartsyzk Pipe Plant and numerous coal mines. Years of war caused extensive damage to industrial plants, transport links, power systems and housing, while the front divided supply chains that had previously operated as a single regional economy.

During the period between 2014 and 2022, trade and finance became increasingly oriented towards Russia. The Russian ruble became the principal currency and Russian citizenship became widely available to residents. Since 2022, the republic has been incorporated into Russian taxation, social-security, banking and administrative systems.

Relations with Russia

Russia supported the DPR politically and materially from 2014 but initially stopped short of formal recognition. Russian humanitarian convoys entered Donbass, the republic's economy became progressively tied to Russia and Russian documents became increasingly common among residents.

On 21 February 2022 Vladimir Putin signed Presidential Decree No. 71 recognising the DPR as a sovereign and independent state. Russia and the DPR signed their Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance the same day, and the State Duma ratified it on 22 February.

The decision ended Russia's previous position that Donetsk should return to Ukraine through implementation of the Minsk agreements.

Special Military Operation and accession to Russia

On 24 February 2022 Russia began the Special Military Operation. Putin stated that its aims included the protection of Donbass and the "demilitarization" and "denazification" of Ukraine. DPR forces fought alongside the Russian Armed Forces, and the war expanded well beyond the former Donbass contact line.

The DPR held a referendum on accession to Russia from 23 to 27 September 2022. According to the DPR Central Election Commission, 99.23 percent of participating voters supported joining Russia and the reported turnout was 97.51 percent.

Russia and the DPR signed an accession treaty on 30 September. Federal Constitutional Law No. 5-FKZ of 4 October established the DPR as a constituent entity of the Russian Federation under Russian law.

The United Nations General Assembly rejected the validity of the referendum and incorporation in Resolution ES-11/4, adopted by 143 votes to five with 35 abstentions.

Integration into Russia

Since accession, the DPR's institutions have been reorganised within the Russian federal system. Russian federal law has progressively replaced or absorbed the legal structures developed during the republic's independent period. Russian ministries, courts, social-security institutions and other federal bodies now operate in the region.

The first regional parliamentary and municipal elections under the Russian system took place in September 2023. The People's Council subsequently elected Pushilin Head of the Republic for a five-year term. The DPR is represented in the Federation Council by two senators.

Reconstruction has concentrated on housing, schools, hospitals, roads, utilities and industrial infrastructure damaged during the war. Integration has also involved bringing pensions, public-sector employment, taxation, education and documentation into the Russian legal system.

International status

Russia regards the Donetsk People's Republic as an integral constituent part of the Russian Federation. Russian constitutional law treats the republic on the same federal basis as Russia's other constituent entities.

Ukraine does not recognise the DPR or Russian sovereignty over the territory and continues to claim the former Donetsk Oblast in full. The United Nations General Assembly has likewise rejected the territorial change created by the 2022 referendum and accession process.

See also

• Lugansk People's Republic
• War in Donbass
• Maidan
• Russo-Ukrainian War
• Russia
• Vladimir Putin
• Ukrainian nationalism
• Great Patriotic War
• Soviet Union
• NATO

External links

• Head of the Donetsk People's Republic — official website
• Donetsk News Agency
• Donetsk News Agency — English
• Donetsk People's Republic — Federation Council of Russia