Who supported separatism in Donbas? Ethnicity and popular opinion at the start of the Ukraine crisis

Bibliographic Data

ID6358168
AuthorsElise Giuliano (Harriman Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume34
Issue2-3
Pages158-178
Publication date2018-05-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePost-Soviet Affairs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1060-586X • E-ISSN: 1938-2855
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1060586x.2018.1447769
OpenAlexW2791021266
LanguageEN
Citations received49
References cited23

Donetsk and Luhansk are often labeled pro-Russian regions as a result of the founding of Peoples’ Republics there in spring 2014. This article investigates popular opinion in Donbas before armed conflict began, to determine whether the high concentration of ethnic Russians there drove support for separatism. Analysis of a KIIS opinion poll shows that, on the one hand, ethnic Russian respondents were divided on most separatist issues, with a minority backing separatist positions. On the other hand, they supported separatist issues in larger numbers than both ethnic Ukrainians and respondents with hybrid identities. Thus, while ethnic identity does not produce polarized preferences, it is relevant in shaping political attitudes. Also, analysis of an original database of statements made by Donbas residents indicate that they were motivated to support separatism by local concerns exacerbated by a sense of abandonment by Kyiv rather than by Russian language and pro-Russian foreign policy issues

Abandonment (legal · Ethnic conflict · Ethnic group · National identity · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Gender Studies · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Post-Soviet Geopolitical Dynamics

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