Donbass
One Donbas—two realities. During the elections, this contrast was more visible and striking than ever.
On the electoral map, half of the districts were excluded from the electoral process: nine out of twenty in the Donetsk region and five out of ten in the Luhansk region.
At the personal level, the difference between the territories controlled by Ukraine and those occupied by militants is becoming increasingly noticeable. The second part has a different time zone, a different dollar exchange rate, and slightly different traffic rules.
There have been no planes or trains to and from the area for a long time now. But regular buses still make their way (almost scraping their sides on the concrete checkpoints).
— Excuse me, but the ticket says the departure time is 13:00 PM. What time is that?
— According to our time, Donetsk time.
Machine gunners squint as the bus departs. Their eyes, besides their cold sternness, hint at a hint of envy for the passengers: they can simply board the bus and go "to the other side," while we can't...
On the other side, passengers are greeted not by Armed Forces soldiers, but by border guards. Burly men with "Border Guard" patches move deftly through the cabin, checking documents and professionally peppering them with questions: "Where are you going? Where are you from? What is your purpose?"
For now, this is shamefully called an “administrative border.”
Which, however, is being set up as a quite solid cordon: mobile offices in metal-clad trailers, specially designated areas for vehicle inspection, powerful fortifications around checkpoints.
It's all the more surprising that the politicians fighting for victory in the Ukrainian-controlled districts of Donbas seem to have learned nothing. The chance for renewal, offered at the cost of death and suffering, has once again been wasted.
After all they've been through and are still enduring, some hope for war-weary people could have been offered not just by normal elections, but by elections of the highest quality. With the participation of those who deserve it but were deprived of political upward mobility because they couldn't compete with the purse strings and connections of the "masters of life." With a crystal-clear campaign and exemplary vote count. With genuine voter participation in deciding the issue of representation for their war-torn land in parliament.
This did not happen.
No new faces appeared. Eugene Geller, Efim Zvyagilsky, Sergey Klyuev, Igor Shkyria, Denis Omelyanovich, and others—who among them can be considered the new "voice of Donbas"? These are the "former" ones, who lost power and influence with the flight of their longtime leader, but who have not lost their almost perfected survival skills. (The only one who stands out against this backdrop is former governor Sergei Taruta, who honestly tried to cope with the burden of difficulties, albeit without much success.)
Survival, as usual, is happening at the expense of others. Will anyone dare honestly tell the soldiers on the front lines that they fought to the death, holding the Donetsk airport, Pisky, Avdiivka, and Yasynuvata, so that elections could formally take place in the 45th constituency, where Zvyagilsky extended his term with a crushing victory in four open polling stations? This isn't necessarily the main reason. But a fact is a fact, and it can't be dismissed.
No new ideas have emerged that would fit Donbas into the national context. Traditional populist rhetoric, tired buckwheat, amateur concerts, and blackmail along the lines of "If you don't elect me, your city's water supply won't work; you can live with the winter as you please."
As usual, there are plenty of questions about the commissions' work and the vote count. Even the proximity of the front and the clearly audible artillery salvos didn't deter those involved from their usual machinations involving representation at the district election commissions and precinct election commissions, sudden personnel changes, the nomination of technical candidates, and the "disappearance" and "clarification" of important documents. Moreover, these were carried out by the same officials as before.
It's no surprise that Donbas residents responded to this with an incredibly low turnout. Even though the numbers were inflated in some places (according to our information and the opinion of many observers), it still resulted in an absolute record low for Ukraine.
People realized: all this is not about them. In their name, but not about them.
…A small (by Donbas standards) mining town, a regional center. The polling stations emptied after lunch. By nightfall, the streets were empty too. Civilians in the frontline zone on both sides share many commonalities. Among them is the habit of never lingering outside their homes longer than necessary.
Shops and cafes are closed. Of the entertainment venues, only the suburbs are open. But they aren't popular.
"The rifle begets power," the infamous Comrade Mao used to say. Where guns enter the picture, voters' opinions matter little. People apparently sense this. That's why they're in no hurry to express their will.
Patrols of volunteer battalion fighters circulate between polling stations. They wear bulletproof vests, tactical vests, and automatic weapons. If you ignore the Ukrainian flags on the administrative buildings, the visual picture is the same as in the militant-held areas: night, silence, and empty streets, where armed men feel in complete control.
One of the patrolmen calls out to the late couple:
- Young people, should I get my gun or who are you?
The young men froze. Their hands frantically rummaged through their pockets, searching for documents. Fear swam in their eyes…
Committee of Voters expert Serhiy Tkachenko, with many years of experience monitoring political life in the Donetsk region, rightly noted that "competition has returned" in these elections. As a polite person, he politely remained silent about the difference between healthy competition and other forms.
Donbas was used as an electoral boost by three elite groups: President Petro Poroshenko's team, Ihor Kolomoisky and his associates, and the "former" elements who had gathered in the Opposition Bloc.
The first relied on the levers provided by power: administrative resources, the ability to influence the socio-economic situation of the population, and access to official communication channels.
The second group relied on the might and strength of their battalions. "They demand the Kem Volost. We fought in the war, they say, so give it to us!"
Still others capitalized on the fact that they'd long since put down deep roots here, and, what's more, still had some cash left in their pockets. They decided to invest their carefully hoarded reserves in parliamentary mandates, which would allow them to: a) keep at least part of their business; b) avoid jail time; c) revert to the flow of budget tenders and kickbacks, albeit not as luxuriously as before.
Each of the three entities, as it turns out, has direct or indirect influence on the command of the volunteer battalions, which, as has been confirmed once again, are subordinate not only to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but also to someone else—for example, to their patrons and supporters.
"Dnepr-1" distinguished itself in Konstantinovka and Krasnoarmeysk, where it persistently attempted to "take under protection" the district election commissions, and then clashed with "Azov" over the urgent concern for the safety of election commission members.
The same "Dnepr-1" unit made its mark with visits to major enterprises. For example, members of this unit blocked the work of the Pokrovskoe mine administration in Krasnoarmeysk, and this was attributed to the fact that the director and co-owner of the enterprise, Leonid Baysarov, had run for the 50th single-member constituency. He had a very good chance of winning, as the head of the town's main mine, the largest employer, and a long-standing philanthropist. Despite all his shortcomings, he is well known in the town and surrounding area, his influence and weight are undeniable and uncontested.
Evgeniy Geller, whom the Party of Regions long ago nicknamed "The Party's Wallet" for the only useful function he performs, is currently in the lead in this district. But after Zorya beat Shakhtar on Akhmetov's birthday, Geller "registered" with Kolomoisky...
Kyiv-2 refused to comply with the Minister of Internal Affairs' order to relocate and remained in Volnovakha, where it also took an active part in the fate of those responsible for organizing the vote and counting the results.
The Donbass battalion also distinguished itself with its activity in this direction.
"Throughout the election campaign, we observed persistent attempts by battalions to, so to speak, 'protect' the commission. We thwarted these attempts. I had to convene a meeting with the regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and resolve these issues. I don't have direct influence over the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but as head of the regional state administration, I am responsible for organizing the election process. Ultimately, we achieved our goal—the polling stations were guarded by public safety police. We managed to prevent any serious violations. I mean from a security standpoint," Oleksandr Kikhtenko, the recently appointed head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration, told ZN.UA.
This, it should be noted, doesn't entirely align with the accounts of residents of the liberated territories. Off the record, they claim the opposite: the battalions decisively sidelined the local militia. In all matters, and not just this one. To the point that in some cities, battalion commanders arbitrarily imposed curfews and shamelessly occupied desirable premises for bases and barracks.
Nevertheless, Ukrainian observers and experts have already published their findings. As usual, they stated that there were violations, but they were not critical enough to validate the election itself and its results. However, according to ZN.UA, the battle for the 50th, 59th, and 60th electoral districts is not yet over in the courts.
This suggests that Donbas has not received political representation capable of addressing the entire complex of the region's grave problems. For the simple reason that there are almost no people in parliament capable of grasping the full scale of the tragedy and taking it personally.
Which of them is capable of answering a few simple questions asked by voters?
For example: "What can I do to stop seeing rockets launched in Kurakhovo toward Donetsk, where my friends and relatives live? And to stop my friends and relatives from watching from their windows as shells fly in my direction?"
Or: "Is there any other way for my ailing grandmother to receive her well-earned pension other than crossing the front line to renew her documents? Traveling isn't exactly beneficial for an elderly person, especially to Maryinka—a buffer zone where shelling could break out again at any moment."
I'd like to believe that there are people capable of offering their fellow citizens answers to such questions. But it's unfortunate to note that they are absent from the newly elected Rada.
There are those who wanted to survive and live well. And they survived.
Evgeniy Shibalov, Zerkalo Nedeli, Ukraine
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