The Luhansk People's Republic (LPR; Russian: Луга́нская Наро́дная Респу́блика (ЛНР), romanised: Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika (LNR), IPA: [lʊˈɡanskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə]) is a disputed republic of Russia with a capital in Luhansk, established on an illegally annexed part of Luhansk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. The LPR was created in 2014 when Russian-backed paramilitaries took control of settlements in the province. This started an eight-year war against Ukraine. The LPR declared itself to be an independent state, but was often described as a puppet state of Russia during the conflict. It was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2022.
Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity in 2014, pro-Russian, counter-revolutionary unrest erupted in the eastern part of the country. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, while the armed separatists seized government buildings and proclaimed the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) and Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) as independent states. This sparked the war in Donbas, part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian war. They received no international recognition from United Nations member states before 2022.
On 21 February 2022, Russia recognised the LPR and DPR as sovereign states. Three days later, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with the protection of the two republics presented as one of the justifications. Russian forces captured more of Luhansk Oblast (almost all of it), which became part of the LPR. In September 2022, Russia proclaimed the annexation of the LPR and other occupied territories, following referendums which most of the international community considered to be illegal under international law. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling on countries not to recognise what it called the "attempted illegal annexation" and demanded that Russia "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw".
The head of the Republic is Leonid Pasechnik.
Geography
The 2014 constitution of the Luhansk People's Republic did not explicitly define its borders. From 2015 to early 2022, its de facto territory was bounded by the Russia–Ukraine border, neighboring Ukrainian regions, and the line of contact established by the Minsk agreements. In February 2022, Russia stated that its recognition of the republic was based on constitutional claims to the entire Luhansk region as it existed within Ukraine.
Administrative divisions
On March 14, 2023, the authorities of the Lugansk People's Republic passed Law No. 527-III, creating 14 cities of republic significance and 17 districts. The division is almost the same as the administrative divisions of Luhansk Oblast until 2020, where the only change was to abolish Popasna Raion.
The cities are as follows: Alchevsk, Antratsyt, Bryanka, Kirovsk, Krasnodon, Krasnyi Luch, Lysychansk, Lugansk, Pervomaisk, Rovenky, Rubezhnoye, Sverdlovsk, Severodonetsk, and Stakhanov.
The districts are as follows: Antratsyt, Belovodsk, Belokurakino, Krasnodon, Kremennaya, Lutugino, Markovka, Melove, Novoaidar, Novopskov, Perevalsk, Svatovo, Sverdlovsk, Slavianoserbsk, Stanytsia-Luganskaya, Starobelsk, and Troitskoye.
History
Luhansk and Donetsk People's republics are located in the historical region of Donbas, which was added to Ukraine in 1922. The majority of the population speaks Russian as their first language. Attempts by various Ukrainian governments to question the legitimacy of the Russian culture in Ukraine had since the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine often resulted in political conflict. In the Ukrainian national elections, a remarkably stable pattern had developed, where Donbas and the Western Ukrainian regions had voted for the opposite candidates since the presidential election in 1994. Viktor Yanukovych, a Donetsk native, had been elected as a president of Ukraine in 2010. His overthrow in the 2014 Ukrainian revolution led to protests in Eastern Ukraine, which gradually escalated into an armed conflict between the newly formed Ukrainian government and the local armed militias.
In 2011, Ukrainian Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts had a combined population of 6,1mln. As a result of Russian military aggression in 2014, 2 million had to leave the region as refugees. After full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, under the false pretext of "genocide of Russian speakers", another approx. 3 mln. either fled or were killed, resulting in total in 80% decrease of Donbas population. According to political scientist Taras Kuzio, this amounts to "destruction, depopulation, and genocide".
Occupation of government buildings
On 5 March 2014, 12 days after the protesters in Kyiv seized the president's office (at the time Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych had already fled Ukraine), a crowd of people in front of the Luhansk Oblast State Administration building proclaimed Aleksandr Kharitonov as "People's Governor" in Luhansk region. On 9 March 2014 Luganskaya Gvardiya of Kharitonov stormed the government building in Luhansk and forced the newly appointed Governor of Luhansk Oblast, Mykhailo Bolotskykh, to sign a letter of resignation.
One thousand pro-Russian activists seized and occupied the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) building in the city of Luhansk on 6 April 2014, following similar occupations in Donetsk and Kharkiv. The activists demanded that separatist leaders who had been arrested in previous weeks be released. In anticipation of attempts by the government to retake the building, barricades were erected to reinforce the positions of the activists. It was proposed by the activists that a "Lugansk Parliamentary Republic" be declared on 8 April 2014, but this did not occur. By 12 April, the government had regained control over the SBU building with the assistance of local police forces.
Several thousand protesters gathered for a 'people's assembly' outside the regional state administration (RSA) building in Luhansk city on 21 April. These protesters called for the creation of a 'people's government', and demanded either federalisation of Ukraine or incorporation of Luhansk into the Russian Federation. They elected Valery Bolotov as 'People's Governor' of Luhansk Oblast. Two referendums were announced by the leadership of the activists. One was scheduled for 11 May, and was meant to determine whether the region would seek greater autonomy (and potentially independence), or retain its previous constitutional status within Ukraine. Another referendum, meant to be held on 18 May in the event that the first referendum favoured autonomy, was to determine whether the region would join the Russian Federation, or become independent.
During a gathering outside the RSA building on 27 April 2014, pro-Russian activists proclaimed the "Luhansk People's Republic". The protesters issued demands, which said that the Ukrainian government should provide amnesty for all protesters, include the Russian language as an official language of Ukraine, and also hold a referendum on the status of Luhansk Oblast. They then warned the Ukrainian government that if it did not meet these demands by 14:00 on 29 April, they would launch an armed insurgency in tandem with that of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).
As the Ukrainian government did not respond to these demands, 2,000 to 3,000 activists, some of them armed, seized the RSA building, and a local prosecutor's office, on 29 April. The buildings were both ransacked, and then occupied by the protesters. Protestors waved local flags, alongside those of Russia and the neighbouring Donetsk People's Republic. The police officers that had been guarding the building offered little resistance to the takeover, and some of them defected and supported the activists.
Territorial expansion
Demonstrations by pro-Russian activists began to spread across Luhansk Oblast towards the end of April. The municipal administration building in Pervomaisk was overrun on 29 April 2014, and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) flag was raised over it. Oleksandr Turchynov, then acting president of Ukraine, admitted the next day that government forces were unable to stabilise the situation in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. On the same day, activists seized control of the Alchevsk municipal administration building. In Krasnyi Luch, the municipal council conceded to demands by activists to support the 11 May 2014 referendum, and followed by raising the Russian flag over the building.
Insurgents occupied the municipal council building in Stakhanov (now Kadiivka) on 1 May 2014. Later in the week, they stormed the local police station, business centre, and SBU building. Activists in Rovenky occupied a police building there on 5 May, but quickly left. On the same day, the police headquarters in Slovianoserbsk was seized by members of the Army of the South-East, a pro-Russian Luhansk regional militia group. In addition, the town of Antratsyt was occupied by the Don Cossacks.
Some said that the occupiers came from Russia; the Cossacks themselves said that only a few people among them had come from Russia. On 7 May, insurgents also seized the prosecutor's office in Sievierodonetsk. Luhansk People's Republic supporters stormed government buildings in Starobilsk on 8 May, replacing the Ukrainian flag with that of the Republic. Sources within the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs said that as of 10 May 2014, the day before the proposed status referendum, Ukrainian forces still retained control over 50% of Luhansk Oblast.
Status referendum and declaration of independence
The planned referendum on the status of Luhansk oblast was held on 11 May 2014. The organisers of the referendum said that 96.2% of those who voted were in favour of self-rule, with 3.8% against. They said that voter turnout was at 81%. There were no international observers present to validate the referendum.
Following the referendum, the head of the Republic, Valery Bolotov, said that the Republic had become an "independent state". The still-extant Luhansk Oblast Council did not support independence, but called for immediate federalisation of Ukraine, asserting that "an absolute majority of people voted for the right to make their own decisions about how to live". The council also requested an immediate end to Ukrainian military activity in the region, amnesty for anti-government protestors, and official status for the Russian language in Ukraine.
Valery Bolotov was wounded in an assassination attempt on 13 May. Luhansk People's Republic authorities blamed the incident on the Ukrainian government. Government forces later captured Alexei Rilke, the commander of the Army of the South-East. The next day, Ukrainian border guards arrested Valery Bolotov. Just over two hours later, after unsuccessfully attempting negotiations, 150 to 200 armed separatists attacked the Dovzhansky checkpoint where he had been held. The ensuing firefight led Ukrainian government forces to free Bolotov.
On 24 May 2014 the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic jointly announced their intention to form a confederative "union of People's Republics" called New Russia. Republic President Valery Bolotov said on 28 May that the Luhansk People's Republic would begin to introduce its own legislation based on Russian law; he said Ukrainian law was unsuitable due to it being "written for oligarchs". Vasily Nikitin, prime minister of the Republic, announced that elections to the State Council would take place in September.
The leadership of the Luhansk People's Republic said on 12 June 2014 that it would attempt to establish a "union state" with Russia. The government added that it would seek to boost trade with Russia through legislative, agricultural and economic changes.
Stakhanov (now Kadiivka), a city that had been occupied by LPR-affiliated Don Cossacks, seceded from the Luhansk People's Republic on 14 September 2014. Don Cossacks there proclaimed the Republic of Stakhanov, and said that a "Cossack government" now ruled in Stakhanov. However the following day this an unnamed Don Cossack leader stated this to be a fabrication, and said the 14 September meeting had, in fact, resulted in 12,000 Cossacks volunteering to join the LPR forces. Elections to the LPR Supreme Council took place on 2 November 2014, as the LPR did not allow the Ukrainian parliamentary election to be held in territory under its control.
Human rights in the early stages of the war
In May 2014, the United Nations observed an "alarming deterioration" of human rights in insurgent-held territory in eastern Ukraine. The UN detailed growing lawlessness, documenting cases of targeted killings, torture, and abduction, carried out by Luhansk People's Republic insurgents. The UN also highlighted threats, attacks, and abductions of journalists and international observers, as well as the beatings and attacks on supporters of Ukrainian unity. An 18 November 2014 United Nations report on eastern Ukraine declared that the Luhansk People's Republic was in a state of "total breakdown of law and order".