Inside The 'Donetsk People's Republic': Balaclavas, Stalin Flags And Razorwire -- The Guardian
Pro-Russian militants say they have no intention of leaving their eastern Ukraine base, and insist Moscow is with them
It is part Soviet theme park, part wacky anti-western wonderland. Stuck to the barricades outside the "Donetsk People's Republic" are several caricatures of Barack Obama. There is Obama as Hitler, complete with moustache. There is Obama, Bonaparte and the Führer, and the words: "They all thought their nations were superior." And there is Obama as a monkey (the monkey-Obama, visible on Friday, had disappeared by Saturday).
Further inside, past a serpentine wall of tyres, activist Vitaly Akulov stood beneath a flag of Stalin. The Soviet leader had a Kalashnikov. Wasn't he responsible for the deaths of millions of Soviet citizens? "Without a tough tsar who uses harsh methods you can't build an imperium," Akulov observed. Other banners read: "Fuck EU and USA", "Donbass with Russia" and "Russians should be together!"
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My Comment: As I had mentioned in a previous post .... this was the first region that started the protests that eventually led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. These people are incredibly hard working, independent, and fiercely pro-Russian .... I always think of the people (in District 12) in the movie "The Hunger Games" when describing who these people are .... and how determined they are in getting what they want.With such a backdrop .... this is one of he many reason on why I am not optimistic for Ukraine's future. It is a country whose borders were established during the height of the Soviet Union that failed to recognize the dominant Russian component of Eastern Ukraine .... but because of treaty and international accords .... they must now respect.
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