Yesterday's U.S. midterm election was not the only participatory process full of emotion and controversy. Ukraine's breakaway Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), in the eastern, pro-Russia part of Ukraine, held elections and inaugurated its first President, Aleksandr Vladimirovich Zaharchenko. Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda sent two correspondents to the inauguration ceremony to get a feel for the festivities and to gauge the popular mood. Their report voices DPR defiance of the Western notion that the election and Donetsk's new leaders are illegitimate.
The inauguration was held at the Donetsk National Music and Drama Theater. According to reporters, it marked the first gathering of Donetsk's cultural and political elite over the past six months. According to the report, the ceremony was "militarily brief," the concert hall filled to capacity. Zaharchenko received an official document from DPR election officials designating him as head of "state."
Members of the Russian Duma attended the ceremony and spoke to the audience, seeking to lend a Russian imprimatur of legitimacy and an expression of Kremlin support for the process. Russian lawmaker Aleksei Zhuravlev said the following:
"Citizens of the People's Republic of Donetsk, colleagues and friends! From our deputies, from the entire multinational Russian people, I would like to welcome the formation of the new state in the Donbas region. ... Aleksandr was entrusted with the young state. It is a huge responsibility, but I am confident that he will cope just fine - because you and the entire Russian world are standing behind him."
After Zaharchenko exited the stage, reporters noted that practically all military personnel left the concert hall as well.
"War started again - we can hear it from this concert hall."
