Editing Donbas (section)

===In independent Ukraine (from 1991)===
[[File:Don Cossacks monument Luhansk.JPG|thumb|210px|A monument to [[Don Cossacks]] in [[Luhansk]]. "To the sons of glory and freedom".]]
In the [[1991 Ukrainian independence referendum|1991 referendum]] on Ukrainian independence, 83.9% of voters in Donetsk Oblast and 83.6% in Luhansk Oblast supported independence from the [[Soviet Union]]. Turnout was 76.7% in Donetsk Oblast and 80.7% in Luhansk Oblast.<ref name="ELF12">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IPNoAAAAMAAJ | title=Europe's Last Frontier? | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan | editor=Oliver Schmidtke | year=2008 | location=New York | pages=103–105 | isbn=978-0-230-60372-1}}</ref> In October 1991, a congress of South-Eastern deputies from all levels of government took place in Donetsk, where delegates demanded federalisation.<ref name="ukrainianweek225494"/>

The region's economy deteriorated severely in the ensuing years. By 1993, industrial production had collapsed, and average wages had fallen by 80% since 1990. The Donbas fell into crisis, with many accusing the new central government in [[Kyiv]] of mismanagement and neglect. Donbas coal miners went on strike in 1993, causing a conflict that was described by historian Lewis Siegelbaum as "a struggle between the Donbas region and the rest of the country". One strike leader said that Donbas people had voted for independence because they wanted "power to be given to the localities, enterprises, cities", not because they wanted heavily centralised power moved from "Moscow to Kyiv".<ref name="ELF12" />

This strike was followed by a 1994 consultative referendum on various constitutional questions in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, held concurrently with the [[1994 Ukrainian parliamentary election|first parliamentary elections]] in independent Ukraine.<ref name="MoU">{{cite book | url=http://books.openedition.org/ceup/1742#ftn11 | title=The Moulding of Ukraine | publisher=Central European University Press | author=Kataryna Wolczuk | year=2001 | pages=129–188 | isbn=9789639241251}}</ref> These questions included whether Russian should be declared an official language of Ukraine, whether Russian should be the language of administration in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, whether Ukraine should federalise, and whether Ukraine should have closer ties with the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]].<ref name="RIIDA">{{cite book| title=Regional Identity and Interests: The Case of East Ukraine | publisher=Studies in Contemporary History and Security Policy | author=Hryhorii Nemyria | year=1999 | work=Between Russia and the West: Foreign and Security Policy of Independent Ukraine}}</ref>

Close to 90% of voters voted in favour of these propositions.<ref name="UEANA">{{cite web | url=http://www.nato.int/acad/fellow/94-96/lupiy/01-02.htm | title=Ukraine And European Security – International Mechanisms As Non-Military Options For National Security of Ukraine | work=Individual Democratic Institutions Research Fellowships 1994–1996 | publisher=NATO | access-date=21 September 2014 | author=Bohdan Lupiy}}</ref> None of them were adopted since the vote was nationwide. Ukraine remained a [[unitary state]], Ukrainian was retained as the sole official language, and the Donbas gained no autonomy.<ref name="Sasre"/> Nevertheless, the Donbas strikers gained many economic concessions from Kyiv, allowing for an alleviation of the economic crisis in the region.<ref name="ELF12" />

Small strikes continued throughout the 1990s, though demands for autonomy faded. Some subsidies to Donbas heavy industries were eliminated, and many mines were closed by the Ukrainian government because of liberalising reforms pushed for by the [[World Bank]].<ref name="ELF12" /> [[Leonid Kuchma]], who had won the [[1994 Ukrainian presidential election|1994 presidential election]] with support from the Donbas and other areas in eastern Ukraine, was re-elected as [[president of Ukraine]] in [[1999 Ukrainian presidential election|1999]].<ref name="ELF12" /> President Kuchma gave economic aid to the Donbas, using development money to gain political support in the region.<ref name="ELF12" />

Power in the Donbas became concentrated in a regional political elite, known as [[Ukrainian oligarchs|oligarchs]], during the early 2000s. Privatisation of state industries led to rampant corruption. Regional historian Hiroaki Kuromiya described this elite as the "Donbas clan", a group of people that controlled economic and political power in the region.<ref name="ELF12" /> Prominent members of the "clan" included [[Viktor Yanukovych]] and [[Rinat Akhmetov]].
[[File:Другий тур 2010 по округах-en.png|thumb|During the [[2010 Ukrainian presidential election]], most people in Donbas voted for [[Viktor Yanukovych]].]]

A brief attempt at gaining autonomy by pro-Viktor Yanukovych politicians and officials was made in 2004 during the [[Orange Revolution]]. The so-called [[South-East Ukrainian Autonomous Republic]] was intended to consist out of nine [[Southern Ukraine|South]]-[[Eastern Ukraine|Eastern]] regions of Ukraine. The project was initiated on 26 November 2004 by the Luhansk Oblast Council, and was discontinued the next month by the Donetsk Oblast Council. On 28 November 2004, in [[Sievierodonetsk]], the so-called {{ill|First All-Ukraine Congress of People's Deputies And Local-Council's Deputies|uk|Перший Всеукраїнський з'їзд народних депутатів та депутатів місцевих рад|vertical-align=sup}} took place, organised by the supporters of Viktor Yanukovych.<ref name="zn.ua">[https://zn.ua/internal/sezd_pobediteley.html The Congress of the Victors ("Съезд победителей")], [[Dzerkalo Tyzhnia|Zerkalo Nedeli]] [in Russian], ''zn.ua''</ref><ref name="bbc.com">[https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/domestic/story/2004/11/041128_severodoneck "The Congress of Regions" took place in Sievierodonetsk] [in Ukrainian], ''www.bbc.com''</ref>

A total of 3,576 delegates from 16 [[Oblasts of Ukraine|oblasts]] of Ukraine, [[Autonomous Republic of Crimea|Crimea]] and [[Sevastopol]] took part in the congress, claiming to represent over 35 million citizens. Moscow Mayor [[Yury Luzhkov|Yurii Luzhkov]] and an advisor from the Russian Embassy were present in the presidium. There were calls for the appointment of Viktor Yanukovych as president of Ukraine or [[Prime Minister of Ukraine|prime minister]], for declaring of martial law in Ukraine, dissolution of the [[Verkhovna Rada]], creation of self-defence forces, and for the creation of a federative South-Eastern state with its capital in [[Kharkiv]].<ref name="zn.ua"/><ref name="bbc.com"/>

Donetsk Mayor [[Oleksandr Lukyanchenko]], however, stated that no one wanted autonomy, but rather sought to stop the Orange Revolution demonstrations going on at the time in Kyiv and negotiate a compromise. After the Orange Revolution's victory, some of the organisers of the congress were charged with "encroachment upon the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine", but no convictions were made.<ref>[https://ua.korrespondent.net/ukraine/258128-golovi-luganskoyi-oblradi-visunute-obvinuvachennya-v-separatizmi Head of the Luhansk Oblast Council was charged with separatism] [in Ukrainian], ''ua.korrespondent.net''</ref><ref>[https://www.rbc.ru/politics/23/06/2005/5703baf09a7947afa08c8263 Ukrainian Governors are accused of separatism] [in Russian], ''www.rbc.ru''</ref>

In other parts of Ukraine during the 2000s, the Donbas was often perceived as having a "thug culture", as being a "Soviet cesspool", and as "backward". Writing in the ''Narodne slovo'' newspaper in 2005, commentator Viktor Tkachenko said that the Donbas was home to "[[fifth column]]s", and that speaking Ukrainian in the region was "not safe for one's health and life".<ref name="ELF17">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IPNoAAAAMAAJ | title=Europe's Last Frontier? | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan | editor=Oliver Schmidtke | year=2008 | location=New York | pages=102–103 | isbn=978-0-230-60372-1}}</ref> It was also portrayed as being home to pro-Russian separatism. The Donbas is home to a significantly higher number of cities and villages that were named after [[Communist]] figures compared to the rest of Ukraine.<ref name="22 cities and 44 villages">{{Cite web |date=2015-06-04 |title=В Україні перейменують 22 міста і 44 селища |trans-title=In Ukraine rename 22 cities and 44 villages |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2015/06/4/7070191/ |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=[[Ukrainska Pravda]] |language=uk}}</ref> Despite this portrayal, surveys taken across that decade and during the 1990s showed strong support for remaining within Ukraine and insignificant support for separatism.<ref name="ELF19">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IPNoAAAAMAAJ | title=Europe's Last Frontier? | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan | editor=Oliver Schmidtke | year=2008 | location=New York | pages=108–111 | isbn=978-0-230-60372-1}}</ref>