Halya Coynash: Survey finds only 18 percent identifying with Kremlin-backed ‘Donetsk people’s republic’
If the results of a recent survey can be trusted, less than one in five residents of areas under the control of the so-called 'Donetsk people's republic' [DNR] identify themselves as 'citizens' of this unrecognized creation. The result is even lower than the level of support which the militants themselves inadvertently revealed, and then 'adjusted', but it can certainly not be dismissed as insignificant. While opinions vary about whether any sociological survey under present conditions can provide a reliable result, there is general agreement that time is likely to increase the divide between residents of the area and the rest of Donbas.