''The result of proclamation of Malorossiya is a ruthless absurdisation of what is happening in Donbass''
The Donetsk journalist tells about the new shared name of unrecognized LNR and DNR
On Monday, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Alexander Zakharchenko suddenly announced the creation of the state Malorossiya, which, according to his plan, will also include LNR. In Luhansk, they were surprised at the news, to put it mildly. A Donetsk journalist Ramil Zamdykhanov, who learned about this will expression from the news, wrote a column for Realnoe Vremya. Watching the events from the inside, he is trying to investigate the situation.
Donbass surprise
On Monday, the residents of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics were stunned by completely unexpected news. The head of young DNR Alexander Zakharchenko in the presence of his closest associates announced the creation of even more new state — Malorossiya. The founding fathers of the new subject of world politics, whose name is more associated with Gogol's famous cycle, announced that Malorossiya will be the successor to the still existing Ukraine, proclaimed Donetsk the capital of the newly created state and explained a number of program-strategic objectives.
I must say that supporters and followers of LDNR as well as their irreconcilable opponents were not ready for this news that fell out of a clear sky exactly in the middle of summer. Brand new reality, unexpected like the plot twist of the early Gogol's story, made everyone for a moment numb and say the famous question from Taras Bulba: ''Batko! Where are you? Do you hear all this?''
The main reason that caused such reaction was the fact that the rebellious Donbass declared its willingness in spite of all the contradictions and almost four-year war with Kiev to continue to be Ukraine, even under a different name.
Until now, there was not such a clear definition of objectives on this part in LDNR.
Certainly, on the one hand, the desire of Donbass to return to Ukraine is specified in the famous Minsk agreement that stipulates a return of Donetsk and Lugansk in the composition of the once united state on the rights of autonomous regions with the special status. Despite the fact that the international community, including Russia, recognise the Minsk agreement the only and sole way to resolve the conflict in the Donbass, the prospect of such return do not satisfy the participants of the conflict. Kiev does not want to see yesterday's separatists as potential managers of one of the administrative units. Members of the resistance in the Donbass do not believe in the security guarantees of life and liberty after a possible merger.
That is why the situation in the Donbass, in mathematical terms, has long been a transcendental equation which, as a rule, has no definite solution. The parties by tedious iterations are looking for possible options that would suit everyone, but so far without much success.
It should be noted that in the process of ''looking'', the goal-setting of the self-proclaimed republics often drastically changed. At the start of the existence of DNR on 11 May 2014 at the famous referendum, the vast majority residents of the Donbass supported the ''Act of proclamation of state independence of the Donetsk People's Republic'', which clearly stipulates that ''The Oblast Council of the Donetsk oblast proclaims the creation of the Sovereign state — the DONETSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC.''
This fact is used by critics of the Minsk agreement. In the document, we will remind, the sovereignty of DNR is not mentioned at all.
Cynical geopolitical model
At the same time, implicitly at different levels, including at the highest, the desire of DNR to become a subject of the Russian Federation has been articulated in the republic from time to time. One of the last statements on that topic was made by the head of DNR Alexander Zakharchenko at the meeting of the integration committee ''Russia — Donbass'' in mid-May of this year. ''We have one goal — reunification with the motherland, and Russia is the motherland,'' he said and I think there is no ambiguity of this phrase.
And now there is ''new introduction'', which proclaims the creation of Malorossiya with its capital in Donetsk and likely gradual assimilation of uncontrolled to Donetsk part of Ukraine.
Three divergent geopolitical vectors were bound to cause cognitive dissonance of the observers as well as of those who have been involved in the process, what actually happened.
It should be noted that the separatist territories (though this phrase causes righteous anger of supporters of Ukrainian statehood) is a phenomenon familiar and understandable for the world. In general, it is explainable. From this point of view, the Donbass of the sample 2014-2017 is absolutely clear, which did not support the coup in Kiev on the Maidan and concentrated on the uncontrolled territory by Kiev.
With the support of Moscow? Yes, with the support of Moscow. It also fits in a cynical (and others do not exist) but clear geopolitical model. It is unlikely that supporters of the Ukrainian statehood need to make a face of offended innocence, they also have something to hear in response.
How will such situation develop? Then the so-called ''secessionist territory'' is recognized or not recognised by the international community, it fights using military and diplomatic means for its self-determination for a long time, overcoming all described in numerous textbooks and research papers children and adult diseases. This process is fraught with human suffering, the meaning of which is clear not to everyone, those who live here, but in any case, the situation has a kind of inevitable inner logic and laws governing such processes, once launched.
But is there any sense in radical change of topology of the situation, turning it inside out, surreal reimagining?
New restart
The self-proclaimed republics of the Donbass are opposed by very rational people who will not appreciate the political tightrope act, and it's certainly not about Poroshenko and Parubiy. The rhetoric in the style of 2014 ''We are now Ukraine here'' is not going to work out, the time has been lost. After the accomplished coup Ukraine was given the opportunity to conduct parliamentary and presidential elections. The forces and personalities that won have been legitimised. The opportunity when it was possible to appeal to the illegality of what was happening in Ukraine was lost in the late spring of 2014 — three years ago. That is why the only result of the proclamation of Malorossiya is a ruthless absurdisation of what is happening today in the Donbas.
It seems that the only thing that could justify the attempt to restart the process in the Donbass is a consolidation of DNR and LNR in one state, since the following existence of the two entities, fencing off from each other by customs and borders, gave plenty of reasons for criticism of the main arguments of Donetsk and Luhansk, which opposed their struggle for the unity of the Russian people against Ukrainian nationalism on the territory controlled by Kiev.
But precisely this moment was accompanied by the most comical incident in the history of the proclamation of the new state. It turned out that the leadership of Luhansk did not know about the upcoming Malorossiya project, and therefore they chose to refute reports of its participation and strongly fenced off from this undertaking. After such demarche, any attempts to ''stitch'' together the two self-proclaimed republics will long be perceived as another trick to Luhansk from Donetsk.
And most importantly. The same people who received the large letter ''N'' in the title of the new states as a gift again became aware of its will expression from the morning papers. In some sense, it is already a tradition.