The 8 Month Anniversary of the Founding of the D.N.R.

This Sunday marks the eight month anniversary of the proclamation of the Donetsk People's Republic, or D.N.R., the entity which declared itself an independent state within Ukraine. While the founders (who included a number of prominent Russian citizens) attempted to steep the genesis of the D.N.R. in the comfort of the positive aspects of Soviet Ideology, the reality on the ground has fallen far short.

Rather, the existence of the D.N.R. has been marred by consistent problems stemming from the ongoing civil war with Ukraine's central government (which to date has claimed nearly 5000 lives). And while the war may be the primary impetus, the problems gripping the D.N.R. remain varied and nuanced.

They range from trouble achieving a mandate to govern, with low turnout in the recent elections, to serious human rights abuses, to the economic chaos that civil war combined with a poorly-implemented Soviet-style command economy has led to.

It must also be mentioned that, since this summer of 2014, when the central Ukrainian government had nearly crushed the opposition of the D.N.R. and its twin the L.N.R., the Russian Federation has been administrating, supplying and largely fighting the War in Donbass on behalf of the rebels. This resulted in a huge jump in the casualties of the war, leading to the numbers we are seeing today.

On this eighth month anniversary of its founding, I fear that the D.N.R. and L.N.R., backed by the full force of the Russian armed forces, shall continue to exist so long as they serve the Russian Federation's geopolitical goals; goals which unfortunately show no signs of change.