German sociologists have found out: despite the war, the torn Donbass is still united

The war had almost no impact on the collective identity of Donbass residents on opposite sides of the front and did not reduce the intensity of contacts between them.

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This was shown by a survey conducted by German sociologists, both in the DPR and LPR, and in territories controlled by Ukraine.  The results of the survey are presented in its publication by the Russian newspaper Kommersant.

The survey was carried out by the Berlin Center for East European and International Studies (ZOiS), an expert institution created two years ago by decision of the German Parliament and financed from the budget of the German Foreign Ministry.

In areas of Donbass controlled by Kyiv, 1200 face-to-face interviews were conducted with people selected according to standard principles based on official population data. Based on the same data, 1200 people were interviewed in the DPR/LPR. These surveys were conducted by telephone for security reasons.

How did the events of 2013-2016 affect the self-identification of people who found themselves on different sides of the front? The short answer received by German researchers is clear: “not enough.” This is the opinion of 62 percent of respondents in the territory controlled by Ukraine, and 45 percent of residents of the LDPR.

At the same time, almost a quarter of respondents in the DPR and LPR began to feel “more Russian.” 20 percent feel “mostly Ukrainian” in the “Kyiv” part of Donbass.

Well, the most interesting thing is that in both parts of the war-torn region there is a “growth of mixed identities.” In the territories controlled by Ukraine, 14 percent of the population feel themselves to be “both Ukrainians and Russians” more strongly than before, and even 20 percent of the population in the DPR/LPR.

This circumstance struck the leader of the study and director of ZOiS Gwendolyn Sasse most of all. She has been involved in Ukraine for many years and knows that “mixed identity” is not uncommon there.

“This is normal in peacetime,” admits Professor Sasse. “But given the situation of war, losses, suffering and the nature of media coverage of the conflict (both Ukrainian and Russian), one could expect that feelings would become more polarized.”

As the study reveals, this did not happen.

It's primarily a matter of language. As follows from the survey, the majority of residents of both parts of Donbass consider Russian their native language (about 50 percent on the “Kyiv” side and almost 60 percent in the DPR/LPR). However, the second most popular linguistic choice is extremely stable - “both Russian and Ukrainian” (it was preferred by 34 percent in the part under the control of Kyiv and 36 percent in the DPR/LPR).

This mixed version is almost equally used at home (21 percent in the “Kiev” Donbass and 17 percent in the DPR/LPR). But at work the situation is different: in the DPR/LPR, Russian is the main language of communication at work for 76 percent, in the “Ukrainian” Donbass - for 55 percent.

The war split Donbass. But, paradoxically, this did not become an insurmountable obstacle to contacts between people living on opposite sides of the front

It is significant that both parts of Donbass maintain contacts with each other.

“The survey showed,” notes Professor Sasse, “that the intensity of contacts between family members and friends living on opposite sides of the front did not weaken during the conflict.” In territory controlled by Kyiv, 38 percent of respondents said they had family members or friends in the DPR/LPR. In these republics, in turn, 57 percent acknowledged the presence of family members or friends “on the other side.” Only 3-4 percent of respondents have no contacts on the “other side”.

But with citizenship the situation is different. More than half of the respondents in the territories controlled by Kyiv, answering the question how much the events of 2013-2016 influenced your national and civic identity, said that, like five years ago, it is important for them to be citizens of Ukraine.

To the same question, more than half (54 percent) of DPR/LPR residents responded that they felt less like citizens of Ukraine than in 2013. True, 38 percent did not feel any change in self-identification.