Novorossiya or New Russia (Russian: Новороссия, IPA: [nəvɐˈrosʲɪjə]; Ukrainian: Новоросія, romanized: Novorosiia, [novoroˈsijɐ]), also referred to as the Union of People's Republics (Russian: Союз народных республик, tr. Soyuz narodnykh respublik, IPA: [sɐˈjuz nɐˈroːdnɨx rʲɪˈspublʲɪk]; Ukrainian: Союз народних республік, romanized: Soiuz narodnykh respublik, [soˈjuz nɐˈrodnɪx resˈpublik]), was a project[1][2] for a confederation between the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) in Eastern Ukraine, both of which were under the control of pro-Russian separatists.[3]

The concept of "Novorossiya" emerged in public discourse with the beginning of the Donbas war in eastern Ukraine. Referring to the historic Novorossiya, a former imperial Russian territory conquered from the Cossacks and the Ottomans in which Russian settlers were encouraged to settle,[4] Russia promoted the Novorossiya concept as a new identity for the Ukrainian breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.

The two constituent republics of the confederation had no diplomatic recognition, while the Ukrainian government classified them as terrorist groups and initially referred to their territory as the Anti-terrorist Operation Zone.[5][6] The creation of Novorossiya was declared on 22 May 2014,[7] and one month later spokesmen of both republics declared their merger into a confederal "Union of People's Republics".[8] Within a year, the project was suspended: on 1 January 2015, the founding leadership announced the project had been put on hold, and on 20 May the constituent members announced the freezing of the political project.[9][10]

Background

Pavel Gubarev (left) at the 90th-anniversary celebration of the Donetsk Museum of Local Lore, 24 December 2014

After the Orange Revolution, Dmitri Trenin of the Carnegie Moscow Center wrote that in 2005 and again in 2008 some quarters in Moscow, that were not entirely academic, discussed the idea of a Russia-friendly buffer state, "Novorossiya", being formed out of Southern Ukraine from the Crimea to Odesa in response to perceived Western penetration into the former Soviet Union.[11] However, the schema was not encouraged due to the perceived waning of the Orange movement.[12]

The idea persisted on the political margins within Ukraine and Russia until resurfaced in spring 2014.[12] As part of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, after the successful annexation of Crimea, the Russian government subsequently intervened in eastern Ukraine, exploiting unrest therein agitating and lending support for separatism. In April, after Russian-backed separatists seized administration buildings in Donbas the term "Novorossiya" was brought up often.[13][14] On 17 April, during talks in Geneva on resolving the crisis, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated at a question and answer session that even "in the tsarist days – Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa – were not part of Ukraine"[15] but part of Novorossiya, and that they had been irresponsibly ceded to Ukraine.[15][16] Putin's definition of New Russia was ahistorical: the 18th-century province did not extend to Kharkiv, Luhansk, or Donetsk,[17] and the city of Kharkiv had belonged to Sloboda Ukraine).[18][19]

On 29 August 2014, President Putin issued a statement addressed to the "Militia of Novorossiya" calling upon it to show humanitarian compassion and allow surrounded Ukrainian soldiers to withdraw and reunite with their families. This was the last official statement by Putin addressing "Novorossiya".[20]

History

As part of Russia hybrid warfare in Ukraine on 17 April 2014 Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his concept of the historic Novorossiya,[21] giving legitimacy to the nascent separatist movement when he described the Donbas as part of the historic "New Russia" (Novorossiya) region, and issued a statement of bewilderment as how the region had ever become part of Ukraine in 1922 with the foundation of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.[22] Few weeks earlier, Putin used similar language when referring to Crimea, which ended with its annexation.[23]

Formation

The New Russia Party, founded on 13 May 2014 in Donetsk, Ukraine,[24] declared on its first congress of 22 May 2014 the formation of a new self-declared state named "Novorossiya", inspired by the historical region of the Russian Empire that carried that name. The congress was attended by separatist officials of the Donetsk People's Republic, the Donbas People's Militia as well as by the Donetsk Republic leader Pavel Gubarev, ultranationalist/Stalinist writer Alexander Prokhanov,[25] Eurasianist political scientist and Eurasia Party leader Aleksandr Dugin, and Valery Korovin. According to Gubarev the state would include Kharkiv (not part of historical Novorossiya), Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia and possibly Sumy (which was later removed from Gubarev's plans).[26][27][28] Two days later, the self-appointed "Prime Minister" of Donetsk Alexander Borodai and Luhansk "head of the Republic" Aleksey Karyakin signed a document behind closed doors formalizing their merger into the new confederation.[29] It was also proposed to have Transnistria and Gagauzia join Novorossiya. In an interview on 31 May, Denis Pushilin, then acting as head of state of the Donetsk People's Republic, stated that Novorossiya currently existed as a union of people's republics, but cooperation could be deepened if more territories were to join.[30] On 24 June, the two separatist republics proclaimed their accession to the union of people's republics, and at the second plenum of the new Parliament of Novorossiya on 15 July, the confederation adopted the official name of Novorossiya.[31] Since the 2 November 2014 Donbas general elections, the Parliament has not gathered again.[9]

Parallel December 2014 declaration

On 12 December 2014, a "Congress of Deputies of All Levels" led by former DPR deputy foreign minister Boris Borisov, alongside figures such as Pavel Gubarev, issued a renewed declaration of the state sovereignty of the "Union of Sovereign Republics" of Novorossiya, claiming it to be an amendment of the 1922 Treaty on the Creation of the USSR.[32][33] In contrast to the May agreement, the new declaration aimed to build a new executive "from scratch".[33] An official of the DPR responded that although Borisov was well-intentioned, his initiative did not have the material backing necessary for success.[33]

Suspension of the project

On 20 May 2015, supporters of the LNR and the DNR officially announced the freezing of the "New Russia" project and the closure of the related structures of political technology. Oleg Tsaryov, chairman of the movement "New Russia", said that the activities of the Joint Parliament of Novorossiya are frozen because the confederation did not comply with the Minsk II accords.[9][34] On 11 May 2014, a referendum on self-determination in eight regions (Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Donetsk) was not held as expected, but only in the Luhansk and Donetsk republics. On 24 May 2014, delegates from these eight regions created the Joint Parliament of New Russia; however, this proved to be only virtual as the political structure was unclaimed: the expected delegation of representatives did not occur, leading to the curtailment of the Parliament initiative.

The status of Novorossiya came into dispute on 26 May 2014, when according to Valery Bolotov, "none of the agreements have been concluded" but the intention is to form a "Union of People's Republics".[35] On 1 January 2015, former Donetsk Republic Prime Minister Alexander Borodai, who resigned on 7 August 2014,[36] stated that "there is no Novorossiya" and that the proposed state was a "dream that was not brought to life" and called it a false start.[37] On 8 June 2015, the leaders of the DPR and the LPR submitted their proposed changes to the Constitution of Ukraine that, while calling for wide autonomy of the Donbas region, conceded them as territories of Ukraine. No change was proposed regarding the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea as part of Ukraine, considering the status of Crimea outside their purview. This was imputed by news agencies as a recognition by the leaders of the DPR and the LPR of Ukrainian sovereignty over Crimea.[38] Given this interpretation, these changes were withdrawn within hours,[39] and on 15 June 2015, DPR "Prime Minister" Alexander Zakharchenko claimed that the DPR "will never be part of Ukraine".[40]

In mid-June 2015, Igor Girkin said that the situation in Novorossiya was a "colossal failure" no one knew how to patch up and that the plan was to negotiate the return of the autonomous regions of Donetsk and Luhansk to Ukraine in return for Ukraine's de facto acceptance of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, the gradual withdrawal of sanctions, and the return of all other territories to their previous condition. According to Girkin, should such a "wonderful" plan be realized, Ukraine would become a federal state. "Consequently, in such a manner, a safety catch would be put in place for its entry into NATO. Russia would get leverage over Kyiv in the form of the autonomous regions, and everything would settle down."[41] On 9 June 2016, an anonymous Russian businessman averred that the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 forfeited any chance to create the confederation.[42]

Similar proposal

A project was declared on 18 July 2017 by the Donetsk People's Republic to include all of Ukraine, but the name was changed to "Malorossiya" (Little Russia).[43][44] The Luhansk People's Republic, however, stated that it would not be taking part in the project. The announcement was widely condemned by nations, including Russia, which pointed to the Minsk agreement.[45]

International recognition

No sovereign state of the United Nations has recognized Novorossiya as a sovereign state or political entity. The two constituent republics, the Luhansk People's Republic and the Donetsk People's Republic, were only recognized by three United Nations members, Russia (since 21 February 2022), Syria (since 29 June 2022), North Korea (since 13 July 2022), as well as by the de facto states of South Ossetia (since 2014)[46][47][48] and Abkhazia (since 25 February 2022).

Controversy

Russian dissidents Aleksandr Skobov and Andrey Piontkovsky commented that in its political features (nationalism, imperialism) the entity has similarities to 20th-century fascist movements.[49][50]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Why the Kremlin Is Shutting Down the Novorossiya Project".
  2. ↑ "The Novorossiya Project". academic.oup.com. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  3. ↑ "'Many Russians' fighting in Ukraine". BBC News. 28 August 2014. Archived from the original on 13 December 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  4. ↑ Senkus, Roman (1993). "New Russia gubernia". Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Vol. 3. Archived from the original on 15 August 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  5. ↑ "Ukraine's prosecutor general classifies self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk republics as terrorist organizations". Kyiv Post. Interfax-Ukraine. 16 May 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  6. ↑ Самопроголошені республіки у Донецькій та Луганській областях кваліфіковано як терористичні організації [The self-proclaimed republics in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts classified as terrorist organizations]. gp.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine. 16 May 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Babiak, Mat (23 May 2014). "Welcome to New Russia". Ukrainian Policy. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  8. ↑ Babiak, Mat (24 June 2014). "Terrorist organizations declare New Russian 'Union of People's Republics'". Euromaidan Press. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  9. 1 2 3
  10. ↑ Andrei, Kolesnikov (29 May 2015). "Why the Kremlin Is Shutting Down the Novorossiya Project". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  11. ↑ Trenin, Dmitri (2011). Post-Imperium: A Eurasian Story (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. p. 100. ISBN 978-0-87003-248-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2014.
  12. 1 2 Gerard Toal (2017). Near Abroad: Putin, the West and the Contest Over Ukraine and the Caucasus. Oxford University Press. p. 243. ISBN 978-0-19025-330-1.
  13. ↑ Kinstler, Linda (7 April 2014). "Protesters in Eastern Ukraine Are Chanting 'Novorossiya', an Old Term That's Back in Vogue". The New Republic. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  14. ↑ Taylor, Adam (18 April 2014). "'Novorossiya', the latest historical concept to worry about in Ukraine". The Washington Post.
  15. 1 2 "Direct Line with Vladimir Putin". kremlin.ru. 17 April 2014. Archived from the original on 3 August 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  16. ↑ Gentleman, Amelia (17 April 2014). "Putin asserts right to use force in east Ukraine". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  17. ↑ Plokhy, Serhii (2023). The Russo-Ukrainian war: the return of history. New York, NY: WW Norton. pp. 122–123. ISBN 978-1-324-05119-0.
  18. ↑ Plokhy, Serhii (2005). Unmaking Imperial Russia: Mykhailo Hrushevsky and the Writing of Ukrainian History. Toronto; Buffalo; London: University of Toronto Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-8020-3937-8. Archived from the original on 21 March 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  19. ↑ Sakwa, Richard (2014). Frontline Ukraine: Crisis in the Borderlands. London: I.B. Tauris. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-85773-804-2. Archived from the original on 21 March 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  20. ↑ "President of Russia Vladimir Putin addressed Novorossiya militia". kremlin.ru. 29 August 2014. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  21. ↑ Herszenhorn, David M. (18 April 2021). "What Is Putin's 'New Russia'?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  22. ↑ Freedman, Lawrence (December 2014). "Ukraine and the Art of Limited War". Survival. 56 (6): 13. doi:10.1080/00396338.2014.985432. S2CID 154981360.
  23. ↑ Putin’s “Greater Novorossiya” – The Dismemberment of Ukraine
  24. ↑ "Donetsk announces creation of Novorossiya Party". Kyiv Post. 13 May 2014. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  25. ↑ Young, Cathy (21 May 2014). "Fascism Comes to Ukraine -- From Russia". RealClearPolitics. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  26. ↑ У Донецьку створили партію "Новоросія" [In Donetsk the party "New Russia" has been founded]. Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 23 May 2014. Archived from the original on 23 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  27. ↑ "Ukraine crisis timeline". BBC News. 8 May 2014. Archived from the original on 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  28. ↑ Луганская и Донецкая республики объединились в Новороссию [The Luhansk and Donetsk republics united to Novorossiya]. novorossia.su (in Russian). Novorossia News Agency. 24 May 2014. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  29. ↑ СМИ: Террористы из "ДНР" и "ЛНР" объединились [Mass media: Terrorists from the "DPR" and the "LPR" have united] (in Russian). UNIAN. 24 May 2014. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  30. ↑ Интервью Дениса Пушилина журналистам Washington Post 31 мая [Interview of Denis Pushilin with Washington Post journalists, 31 May] (in Russian). Novorossia News Agency. 1 June 2014. 12 minutes in. Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2014 – via YouTube.
  31. ↑ Парламент Союза народных республик принял конституцию Новороссии (in Russian). TASS. 15 July 2014. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  32. ↑ В самопровозглашенных республиках Донбасса приняли "Декларацию о госсуверенитете Новороссии". Dialog.ua (in Russian). 14 December 2014. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  33. 1 2 3 Dergachev, Vladimir (19 January 2015). Сепаратисты готовят замену ополченцам. Gazeta.Ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  34. ↑ Царьов офіційно визнав крах "проекту Новоросія" [Tsaryov officially acknowledges the collapse of the "Novorossiya project"] (in Ukrainian). 5 Kanal. 20 May 2015. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  35. ↑ "В.Болотов опроверг информацию об объединении ЛНР и ДНР в Новороссию" [V.Bolotov denied the merger of the LNR and the DNR in Novorossiya]. www.ostro.org (in Russian). Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  36. ↑ Olearchyk, Roman (7 August 2014). "Rebel leader quits Donetsk amid infighting". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  37. ↑ "Ex-prime minister of unrecognized Donetsk republic: There's no 'Novorossiya', but a false start". Belsat TV. 2 January 2015. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  38. ↑ Holodny, Elena (9 June 2015). "The pro-Russia separatist regions just named Crimea as a part of Ukraine". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  39. ↑ Parfitt, Tom (10 June 2015). "Ukraine rebels U-turn on non-recognition of Russian rule over Crimea". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  40. ↑ Захарченко, оправдываясь, признался, что его боевики ведут обстрелы с территории школы. InfoResist (in Russian). 15 June 2015. Archived from the original on 30 January 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  41. ↑ Стрелков заявил о фиаско проекта "Новороссия" [Strelkov announced the fiasco of the "New Russia" project] (in Russian). Rosbalt. 17 June 2015. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  42. ↑ Loiko, Sergei (1 June 2016). "The Unraveling of Moscow's 'Novorossia' Dream". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  43. ↑ Litvinova, Daria (18 July 2017). "Separatists in Ukraine declare creation of new 'state' Malorossiya". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  44. ↑ "Ukraine Separatists Criticized Over Call For Creation Of 'Little Russia'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 18 July 2017. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  45. ↑ "Malorossiya project is personal initiative of self-proclaimed republic's leader — Kremlin". TASS. 18 July 2017. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  46. ↑ "South Ossetia Recognizes 'Luhansk People's Republic'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. RES. 19 June 2014. Archived from the original on 11 December 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  47. ↑ "South Ossetia recognizes Donetsk People's Republic". Kyiv Post. Interfax-Ukraine. 27 June 2014. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  48. ↑ Rainsford, Sarah (21 February 2022). "Russia recognises Ukraine separatist regions". BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  49. ↑ Skobov, Aleksandr (21 July 2014). Реконструкция ада [Reconstruction of hell]. Grani.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  50. ↑ Piontkovsky, Andrey (18 July 2014). Июльские БУКи [July BUKs]. Kasparov.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 21 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
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