The residents of the Donetsk People’s Republic who have been granted Russian citizenship will be able to take part in the Duma elections online or at polling stations in the Rostov Region. Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Pushilin is one of those who will vote remotely. In an interview with the Parlamentskaya Gazeta edition, he spoke about the environment in which the residents of Donbass were preparing to vote on 17-19 September.
— The DPR residents who have received Russian passports can take part in the Duma elections. In what format will they vote?
— We have made efforts to ensure that the voting process is as comfortable for our residents as possible. They can cast their vote either in person at polling stations in the Rostov Region or through remote electronic voting technology.
Many have opted for online voting. We have 258 Info Centres open, where people can get advice on how to apply to vote. By the way, they also assist in applying for a Social Security Number and registering at the public services portal. Through this portal, our residents holding Russian citizenship submit online applications for various social payments and benefits in Russia, including «coronavirus» and lump sum payments timed to the beginning of the school year.
We are all aware of the significance for the Russian Federation citizens of the elections that will determine the ruling force and the development course of their homeland for the upcoming five years. The residents of Donbass have learned by experience the importance of the expression of the people’s will, for it changes the fates of peoples. Therefore, the Russians living in the DPR will take the elections to the State Duma with the utmost responsibility and exercise their constitutional right.
— Do you actually plan to vote yourself?
— Of course, I do. I have registered to vote online through the public services portal. The registration procedure is completely transparent, does not involve any difficulties and certainly saves a bundle of time.
— Do Russian parties hold political campaigning in the DPR? Are there any attempts to interfere in the Duma elections campaign «from the outside»?
— During the pre-election period, representatives of various parties visited the republic and had meetings with the population. DPR citizens watch Russian federal channels, we have the same political news agenda and we keep abreast of the election campaigns of all the parties running for the State Duma.
Recently, Ukrainian «information troops» have stepped up their activities on social networks, and the number of election-related fakes and stove-piping has increased significantly. We are also observing an escalation on the contact line. Since 25 August, nine people have suffered injuries. Ukraine’s armed formations have carried out numerous targeted attacks on infrastructure and industry facilities in the Republic. The power hubs feeding the front-line areas of the Republic, the Zasyadko Mine, the Dokuchayevsk Flux-Dolomite Plant and the Neftebaza Fuel Company have come under fire. But we know how to respond to such provocations.
I am certain that no one and nothing will get in the way of the Donbass residents with Russian Federation citizenship voting in the elections on September 17-19. This is their right, and we will not allow anyone to withdraw it, despite interference attempts from the outside.
— In order to obtain Russian citizenship under a simplified procedure, residents of the Republic must have DPR passports, and there are waiting lists booked up for a year ahead. Is it possible to speed up the issuance of passports? How many people have already obtained DPR passports to date and how many hold Russian passports?
— The issue of passport issuance to our citizens is a top priority. Employees of the Migration Service are constantly working to optimize and speed up the process of processing documents. The work is ongoing in all aspects and greatly involves city and district administrations, personnel services of organizations, institutions, businesses and public activists. Until this year, the Migration Service could process a thousand applications a day, now it handles a thousand and a half.
There have been issued more than 795,000 DPR passports and more than 313,000 Russian passports.
— How many people are currently living in the Republic? Have many residents have left and is there a tendency for the Donbass citizens to return to their home towns?
— Some return to their homes, others leave in search of a new place of residence, usually in Russia. This is due to both the unresolved civil conflict and the non-recognition of the DPR and the ensuing difficulties.
According to the publicly available information from the State Statistics Service, the population of the Donetsk People’s Republic as of 1 August 2021 was 2,229,794 people.
Donbass is still in a war zone and this is a determining factor that affects migration processes in the region. Frontline territories are still subject to shelling by the Ukrainian armed formations. For this reason, many citizens have had to leave their homes. Russia is known to have hosted more than 2.5 million refugees from the territory of the former Donetsk and Lugansk regions during the conflict. Another part of residents received the status of internally displaced persons and are living in Ukraine.
When the heated phase of hostilities ended in 2015, many families returned home. And this trend continues. Peaceful life is gradually settling in towns and districts remote from the contact line, and these places become increasingly attractive to internally displaced persons. We can observe this both in traffic jams and an increased demand for housing. At the same time, the welfare of our citizens is also improving, as can be noticed in the increase in the consumption of goods and services.
It is essential for us to ensure that people have a choice and the right to live, work or study wherever they want. Although I will not deny it, we are concerned about the outflow of young people. We already have programmes in place, for example for graduates in medicine, to make it advantageous to work in the Republic.
— Deputies of the State Duma of the seventh convocation and regional parliaments regularly visit the DPR to exchange lawmaking experience. What issues are now on the agenda in the DPR and in which areas would you like to explore the experience of Russian lawmakers?
— In 2014, the Donetsk People’s Republic inherited the legislative framework of Ukraine. And the first thing with which we started building our own state was reforming it. The adoption of our own constitution was a key moment in this process. And then we began a laborious work on our own legislation.
Today the DPR People’s Council is focused on the legislation codification. I would like to emphasize that we have adopted a policy of coordinating the Republic’s legislation with the Russian legal framework. We are also completing the synchronisation of civil, customs and tax legislation with the Lugansk People’s Republic.
We have reached a stage in the development of our country when it is time to be in the course of construction. Therefore, we are putting an enormous deal of focus on the legislative framework necessary for the development of the construction, housing and utility services sector, coordinating the document base for technical regulation of the industry with the system of construction norms and regulations of the Russian Federation.
Translated from the source.