Labor für die Russische Welt: Selbstbild und Nation im Donbass [Laboratory for the Russian World: Self-Image and Nation in Donbas]

Alexandr Voronovici, ‘Labor für die Russische Welt: Selbstbild und Nation im Donbass [Laboratory for the Russian World: Self-Image and Nation in Donbas]’, Osteuropa, no. 5 (2025): 115-123.  

The article is a part of the special section of Osteuropa, the leading German journal on East European politics. The special section is devoted to ‘(Pro-)Russianness” in the post-Soviet space. Alexandr co-edited this section together with Jan Zofka (GWZO Leipzig). Published articles are based on workshop papers presented at Imre Kertesz Kolleg Jena in May 2024. Alexandr and Jan co-organised the workshop with the support of colleagues at the Kolleg. 

Abstract: The self-image of the ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ has changed since 2014. Official documents and schoolbooks initially propagated a multi-ethnic regionalism to justify secession from Ukraine. With the ‘Russian Donbas’ doctrine, the idea that the People’s Republic belonged to the ‘Russian World’ came to the fore. However, what this world meant remained unclear. Some saw it in the tradition of the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union. Local politicians exploit the ambiguity of the word ‘Russian’. The article analyses the evolution of the ‘(pro-)Russian’ discourse in the ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ , situating it at the intersection of secessionist state- and nation- building, propaganda, and shifting (geo)political contexts.