Ukraine at war : symbolic politics in Donbas insurgency

Abstract

The events of the Euromaidan triggered an insurgent movements’ emergence in the East of Ukraine to mobilise against the newly-organised authorities in Kiev. These insurgent movements shook the country in as much as Ukraine lost control over certain territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, lost control over the Ukrainian-Russian border line, lost over a million of Ukrainians who fled to Russian as well as has got about a million of internally-displaced people, economic decline etc. However, the apogee of the confrontation between the East and Kiev has led to a large-scale war in the East of Ukraine on territorial parts of Donetsk and Lugansk regions in which more than 10000 people died. Thе conflict quickly became one of the hot spot themes on the international arena having influenced the Ukraine’s domestic and external politics, particularly Ukrainian-Russian relations. However, what is the Donbas Insurgency about? and what methods the insurgent leaders used to gain support among the local population during the pre-insurgency period, this thesis will shed the light on as well in what way Russia is involved in the conflict.