page_title: Russians in Ukraine
section_title: Pro-Russian movements in Ukraine
hierarchical_section_title: Russians in Ukraine / Politics / Pro-Russian movements in Ukraine
caption_attribution_description: Русский: День Победы в Донецке
context_page_description: Russians in Ukraine are the largest ethnic minority in the country, which community forms the largest single Russian diaspora in the world. In the 2001 Ukrainian census, 8,334,100 identified as ethnic Russians, this is the combined figure for persons originating from outside of Ukraine and the Ukrainian born population declaring Russian ethnicity.
context_section_description: Whereas there are several political parties and movements in Ukraine that advocate a moderate pro-Russian policy, there are also a few pro-Russian political organizations that are considered radical by observers. Many of them state their agenda as an opposition to Ukrainian independence and openly advocate for the restoration of the Russian Empire. These movements are numerically small, but their impact on the society is easy to overestimate due to their vocal activity that generates much media coverage and commentary from politicians at the highest levels.
  The actions organized by these organizations are most visible in the Ukrainian part of historic Novorossiya (New Russia) in the south of Ukraine and in the Crimea, a region in which in some areas Russians are the largest ethnic group. As ethnic Russians constitute a significant part of the population in these largely Russophone parts of southern Ukraine (and a majority in the Crimea), these territories maintain particularly strong historic ties with Russia on the human level. Thus, a stronger than elsewhere in the country pro-Russian political sentiment makes the area a more fertile ground for the radical pro-Russian movements that are not as common elsewhere in the country.
  As of December 2009 clashes between Ukrainian nationalists and pro-Russian organisations do sometimes take place.
caption: Pro-Russian supporters in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine
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