We present a study of the Donetsk regional narrative — the stories that residents of this region tell about its past, present, and future.
Three main pro-Ukrainian regional narratives were recorded on the territory of the Donetsk region, as well as two peripheral narratives.
The “Ukraine-centric” narrative
is a story about struggle. The story of the Donetsk region as a Ukrainian region that has experienced and is experiencing the greatest pressure from the USSR and today’s Russia. The myth of two “Golden Ages” is noticeable: the first one being “European”, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the second one being Ukrainian, that is, after the Soviet decline. At this time, the region began to recall its rich Ukrainian culture, especially in the unoccupied territories. It is important that the residents of the Donetsk region differ from the residents of other regions of Ukraine no more than they differ from each other.
“Deconstruction of the Soviet narrative of Donbas”
This is a story about a great epiphany. The Donetsk region is a land that was once both Cossack and European, but the reconstruction after the Second World War restarted its history from scratch. The Donetsk region is unique; its inhabitants are carriers of special skills and ethics. In Soviet times, they often did not notice the Ukrainian life of their region. But when in the 1990sthey were “expelled” from the Soviet “paradise”, they realized that they were Ukrainians, and that “paradise” was fake. Leaders emerged who were able to bring prosperity to the area, culminating in 2012. But the occupation of the Donetsk region destroyed its future.
The “Mariupol” narrative
is a story about the tragedy and paving the road towards it. Mariupol and its surroundings are different from the rest of the Donetsk region, combining the sea and industry. The Greek influence is very noticeable here. The city was founded by the labor of simple Ukrainian and Greek workers, whom the Soviet authorities Russified and repressed. When Russia started the war, most conscious Mariupol residents became pro-Ukrainian. When the Azov battalion liberated the city in 2014, a new life began in it. But Russia finally destroyed the city along with the lives of its inhabitants.
In addition to the three main narratives, there are two less common peripheral narratives that still have a tangible impact on them: the narrative of the Azov Greeks and the narrative of the autochthons of the Northern Donetsk region.
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