Historical background of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine

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A variety of social, economical, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic factors contributed to the sparking of unrest in eastern and southern Ukraine in 2014, and the subsequent eruption of the Russo-Ukrainian War, in the aftermath of the early 2014 Revolution of Dignity.

In

Second World War. This contrasts with western and central Ukraine, which were historically ruled by a variety of powers, such as the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Austrian Empire.[1] After the Orange Revolution in 2004, Russia launched a decade-long effort to restore its political influence in Ukraine, by playing on existing domestic fault lines and undermining the central government.[2]

The tensions between these two competing historical and cultural traditions erupted into political and social conflict during the Euromaidan, which began when then Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union in November 2013.[3] Support for closer ties with Europe was strong in western and central Ukraine, whilst many in eastern and southern Ukraine traditionally favoured stronger relations with Russia. President Yanukovych, who drew most of his support from eastern regions, was forced out of office in February 2014. His ouster was followed by unrests in eastern and southern Ukraine.[4][failed verification – see discussion]

Crimea

Imperial period

After the

Russian Romanticism".[11] It was popular with Russians on holiday because of its warm climate and seaside. This association continued into the Soviet period.[11]

Soviet period

Crimea had autonomy within the

Crimean Oblast
" of the Russian SFSR. Following these events, for the first time in history, ethnic Russians comprised the majority of the population of Crimea.

a referendum, just prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[20]

Ukrainian period

Ukrainian independence was confirmed by

Budapest Memorandum. This treaty was also signed by the United States, United Kingdom, and France.[27][28] Ukraine revoked the Constitution of Crimea and abolished the office of President of Crimea in 1995.[29] Crimea was granted a new constitution in 1998, which granted lesser autonomy than the previous one.[20][30] Crimean officials would later seek to restore the powers of the previous constitution.[30] Throughout the 1990s, many Crimean Tatar deportees and their descendants returned to Crimea.[31]

One of the main tensions in

US Navy ship "Advantage" in June 2006.[33] The protesters carried signs with anti-NATO slogans, and considered the presence of NATO-affiliated troops an "intrusion". Some commentators in Ukraine viewed the protests as being driven by a "Russian hand".[33]

In the 2010 elections to the Crimean parliament, the Party of Regions received the largest share of votes, whilst the second-placed Communist Party of Ukraine received a much smaller share.[34] Both of these political parties would later be targets of the Euromaidan movement.[35][36][37] Former president of Crimea Yuriy Olexandrovich Meshkov called for a referendum on restoring the 1992 Constitution of Crimea in July 2011. As a consequence of this, a local court in Crimea deported Meshkov from Ukraine for five years.[38]

Contemporary demographics

Main article: Demographics of Crimea

According to the

Ukrainian Census of 2001, ethnic Russians comprised 58.5% of the population of Crimea.[39] The next two largest ethnic groups were Ukrainians, who comprised 24% of the population, and Crimean Tatars, who comprised 10.2%. Other minority ethnic groups recorded as present in Crimea include Belarusians and Armenians. 77% of the population of Crimea reported their native language as Russian, 11.4% indicated Crimean Tatar, and 10.1% indicated Ukrainian.[40]

Donbas

A Soviet-era poster depicting the Donbas, which reads "Donbas is the heart of Russia".

Imperial period

district of Mariupol, where they comprised 36.7% of the population.[46] Despite this, Russians constituted the majority of the industrial work-force. Ukrainians dominated rural areas, but cities were often inhabited solely by Russians who had come seeking work in the region's heavy industries.[47] Those ethnic Ukrainians who did move to the cities for work were quickly assimilated into the Russian-speaking worker class.[48]

Soviet period

Ukrainians in the Donbas were greatly affected by the 1932–33

Soviet Census of 1989, 45% of the population of the Donbas reported their ethnicity as Russian.[56]

Ukrainian period

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, residents of the Donbas were generally in favour of stronger ties with Russia, in contrast to the rest of Ukraine. A 1993 strike by miners in the region called for a federal Ukraine and economic autonomy for Donbas.[56] This was followed by a 1994 consultative referendum on various constitutional questions in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, held concurrently with the first parliamentary elections in independent Ukraine.[57] These questions included whether Russian should be enshrined as an official language of Ukraine, whether Russian should be the language of administration in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, whether Ukraine should federalise, and whether Ukraine should have closer ties with the Commonwealth of Independent States.[58] Close to 90% of voters voted in favour of these propositions.[59] None of them were adopted: Ukraine remained a unitary state, Ukrainian was retained as the sole official language, and the Donbas gained no autonomy.[56]

Donbas voters and politicians had wide influence over

Ukrainian independence.[64]

Contemporary demographics

According to the

Roma were reported as not using Russian in daily life, citing Romani instead.[66]

Kharkiv Oblast

Corpse on pavement in Kharkiv during the Holodomor

Large numbers of ethnic Ukrainian settlers first came to the land that is now

Imperial Census of 1897 recorded the native language of 80.6% of the population of Kharkov Governorate as Ukrainian, whereas Russian was recorded as the native language of only 17.7% of the population.[69]

The city of

Soviet Census of 1989, 33.2% of the population of Kharkiv Oblast identified as ethnic Russian, and 48.1% of the population reported that their native language was Russian.[71][72]

Contemporary demographics

According to the

Jews, and Belarusians. 53.8% of the population reported that their native language was Ukrainian, whilst 44.3% reported that it was Russian.[72]

Odesa Oblast

At the time of the

Jewish, 9.2% was Moldavian, 8.6% was German, 2% was Polish, and 1.6% was Bulgarian.[74][non-primary source needed
]

In the early period of the

Second World War had a devastating impact on the region's previously large Jewish population.[77] Also during the war, the ethnically-diverse Budjak was annexed to the Ukrainian SSR as Izmail Oblast
. It was merged into Odesa Oblast in 1954.

By the time of the

Soviet Census of 1989, 27.4% of the population of Odesa Oblast identified themselves as ethnic Russian, whilst 55.2% identified themselves as ethnic Ukrainians.[78][79] The remainder was made up mostly of Moldavians, Bulgarians and Gagauz
.

Contemporary demographics

According to the

Moldavian
.

See also

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