East Ukraine: Back In The USSR -- Jamie Dettmer, Daily Beast
Gone are the wild-eyed revolutionaries in Donetsk and Luhansk, replaced by steely-eyed bureaucrats and seasoned combat veterans.
DONETSK, Ukraine — They shuffled in the hallway wrapped up to withstand the cold, waiting to register documents with the health authorities of the separatist authorities in the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic, and as they waited they shared whispered complaints about their new political knyaz (masters) taking care not to be overheard.
“Separatist fighters came into our district and started firing shells at the airport,” a gray-haired babushka told four other elderly people. “The shells went astray and hit buildings in the district. And we asked them why did you do this, but they didn’t reply.”
A companion murmured: “You can’t complain or they’ll put you on an enemies list.”
Donetsk, formerly a make-believe republic, is turning into a little neo-Soviet state. A few months ago it was under the heel of people who had no idea how to administer the provincial building they claimed as headquarters let alone rule an oblast of four million people. When they stormed the local state treasury to seize money, the treasurer had to explain the intricacies of state finance and that tax proceeds were not stored in cash in his building.
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My Comment: They have a very long way to go before they resemble anything that looks like a state .... but they are making progress .... albeit slowly and with no international support (except from Moscow).
Update: Life in Donetsk is getting harder with each passing day .... Ukraine crisis: Donetsk without water after shelling (BBC).
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