25 Years of Donbas Separatism. Part 6

The final chord

The shift to Euro-integration in the policy of the president marked the last stage of the confrontation of Luhansk elite and Kyiv before the catastrophe of 2014. The key person at that time was Kuchma’s “eminence grise” Viktor Medvedchuk. In 2013 a regular “humanitarian” conference was held in Luhansk. It was “Economic and political consequences of signing the EU association agreement for Ukrainian industry” organized by Medvedchuk’s movement “Ukrainian Choice”.

 
Arsen Klinchayev, Victor Medvedchuk

Though Luhansk region officials ignored the event as they were bound by the party discipline, the forum demonstrated the supporters of the “specific way” of the Donbas. Odious politician Arsen Klinchaev became the coordinator of the “Ukrainian Choice” movement in the Luhansk region. And one could see the sketches of the future developments in the east of Ukraine in Klinchayev’s emotional and tongue-tied speeches.

“Russian nationalism is maturing. But if Russian nationalism has matured, Ukrainian nationalism is like a baby in a cradle. Russian bear is moving very slowly, but if it has started moving, half of the world will not know what hit it. Now everything is dormant, in germ”.

“If to take our Ukrainian Cossacks, there are three generals – one Cossack. Cossacks from the Don are more battle worthy. They live on the border, and all of them are Russia-oriented. Pro-Europeans say today that a lot of people support European integration; however, even more people are for Russia… And it is quite possible to wage a war, if to shake the situation and involve the language, the faith issues… Who could think that Moldova and Pridnestrovye (Transnisteria), those peaceful people, would ever fight?

Russia was represented by Sergey Glazyev, Putin’s adviser, at the forum. He compared Yanukovich’s choice with the choice of “Judas-Mazepa”. There was also “Russian orthodox church expert” Kirill Frolov in the Russian delegation. He denounced “Euro Sodom”. However, Yanukovich was not “Mazepa”, who was drawing the Donbas to Euro Sodom, for a long time. Soon the foreign policy of Ukraine made a u-turn, refused the EU integration; and there were protests on Maidan, the civil war, Yanukovich’s overthrow, and the burst of separatism in the Donbas. The moment, which had been prepared for 25 years, came at last. But this is a new and tragic story…

Instead of the Conclusion

We have considered the 25-year history of Donbas separatism.

It is possible to say that we deal with classical inspiration of a wrecking movement by a neighbouring state. But that would take the responsibility off the residents of the Donbas themselves who have found something dear to them in the speeches of separatists, communists, regionalists and stubbornly voted for  blighters and robbers of the Donbas whose leaders, at last, opened the way to the foreign intervention. So, the current disastrous situation in the unrecognized republics was chosen by the residents themselves, to some degree.  On the other hand, the Donbas has experienced Fromm’s escape from freedom, when, in the conditions of frustration caused by the crash of the totalitarian regime, masses of people rushed to the shade of the saving and understandable past, but then we take the responsibility off Ukraine and Europe that had observed all these years how the whole region in the center of Europe was falling down into the abyss of the archaic. And we, all the people of good will in the Donbas (including the author), had been eagerly compromising with the reality of the Donbas until the time it was too late. The time of insight for Ukrainians, and Russians (without the sound understanding of the situation by Russians, it will be impossible to solve the Donbas problem), and Europeans, and residents of the Donbas, where the humanitarian catastrophe has already happened and the way out is not seen. It is impossible to solve the problem only with the help of military and police means unless all the parties have not reflected on the situation and drawn conclusions.

Kostyantyn Skorkin for RN

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