Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.20901/pm.62.1.05
LUHANSK PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC AS A DE FACTO STATE
Ivan Burazin
orcid.org/0009-0002-2020-9955
; Sveučilište obrane i sigurnosti “Dr. Franjo Tuđman”, Institut za sigurnosne i obrambene studije, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
The paper presents a case study of the Luhansk People’s Republic as a de facto state. During its existence, the separatist authorities established a series of socio-political institutions and implemented a policy of extensive social control. The emergence, maintenance, and disappearance of the LPR depended on Russian military and material aid, and as such it had some, but not majority support from the population in the Luhansk region. Throughout the period, the international community exerted a significant influence, mediating the process of building trust between the warring parties; however, this effort was ultimately disrupted by the war, that is, by the Russian invasion, which was preceded by political and economic integration of the separatist-held areas. The scientific contribution of this paper is that it is a research based on both primary and secondary data, offering insights into the complex phenomenon of de facto states and enhancing the understanding of the processes that occurred in Donbas between2014 and 2022 within the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Keywords
De Facto States; Luhansk People’s Republic; Separatism; Donbas; Ukraine; Russia; War
Hrčak ID:
333832
URI
Publication date:
18.7.2025.
Visits: 950 *