1991 Unrest in South-Eastern Ukraine

• Creation of the Republics of Donetsk , Lugansk , Kharkov , Odessa , Dnepr , Kherson , Nikolaev  and Zaporozhia

### Methods

• Protests
• Riots
• Armed insurgency
• Occupation of administrative buildings

### Resulted In

• Secession of the Republic of Crimea
• Riots
• Proclamation of the Donetsk , Lugansk , Kharkov  and Odessa  Republics
• Escalation into the War in Ukraine

**1991 Unrest in South-Eastern Ukraine** - From the end of August to November 1991, spontaneous demonstrations by pro-Soviet, pro-Russian and anti-government groups were held that took place in major cities across the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, in the aftermath of the declaration of the Act of the Restoration of Independence of Ukraine on August 24, 1991 and the successful August Coup in Moscow.

Major developments began when the local government in the autonomous Ukrainian republic of Crimea was deposed by pro-Soviet and pro-Russian groups. Concurrently, pro-Soviet and pro-Russian protests took place across other parts of eastern and southern Ukraine. Armed local separatists took advantage of the situation, occupied government buildings, and launched an insurgency in the region. To suppress this insurgency, the Ukrainian government began sending in armed formations to quell the unrest. The suppression was only successful in the regions of Dnipro, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia while Soviet-backed groups managed to seize government buildings across Donetsk, Luhansk, Odessa and Kharkiv oblasts.

## Background

Ukraine became gripped by unrest when chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR Viacheslav Chornovil proclaimed the Act of the Restoration of Independence of Ukraine on 24 August 1991. Some communities in largely Russophone regions of eastern and southern Ukraine did not approve this declaration and began to protest in favour of closer ties with Russia and the Soviet Union.

## Timeline

### August

#### 24 August

* Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR passes the Act of the Restoration of Independence of Ukraine.

* Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Crimean ASSR, Mustafa Jemilev announced that the possibility of secession of Crimea from Ukraine can be only decided in a democratic referendum. He also added that he would condemn any, especially pro-Russian Moscow, forces attempts to intervene in Crimean internal politics.

#### 27 August

* In Simferopol, a pro-Ukrainian rally was held in support of the Ukrainian independence. The protesters also waved Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar flags.
* Meanwhile in Sevastopol, thousands protested against the proclamation and voted to establish a parallel administration and civil self-defense squads. Protesters waved Soviet and Russian flags. Soviet military convoys were also alleged to be seen in the area. In Kerch, pro-Soviet protesters attempted to remove the Crimean Tatar flag from atop city hall and replace it with the flag of Russia. Over 100 attended waving flags of Russia and the Soviet Union.

#### 29 August

* Several hundred pro-Russian protesters blocked the Crimean parliament and demanded a referendum on Crimea's independence.

* Soviet armored personnel carriers were deployed to protect *"Russian Interests"* in the city of Sevastopol. The APCs with Russian marines were in Nakhimov Square and the courtyard of the Moscow House.

#### 30 August

* Thousands of protesters clashed in Simferopol. Near the Supreme Soviet of Crimea building between 5,000 and 6,250 Crimean Tatars and supporters of Ukraine faced 450–500 supporters of pro-Russian protesters. Crimean Tatars created self-defence groups and called on activists to unite with Russian, Ukrainian and people of other nationalities to avoid provocations and to protect churches, mosques, synagogues and other important sites. By nightfall, the Crimean Tatars had left, while the pro-Russian rally had grown to 4,000 as protesters arrived from Sevastopol later in the day.
* Some rumours were heard that Soviet troops or local volunteers took control of the main route of access to Sevastopol. A military checkpoint, with military vehicles under a Soviet flag, was set up on the main highway between the city and Simferopol.

#### 31 August

* At 4:20 local time, 45 Soviet gunmen seized Crimea's parliament building and Council of Ministers building. They were said to be heavily armed. 20 broke into the building initially, with a bus carrying another 25 and additional weapons arriving later. The gunmen wore Soviet insignia.
* While the gunmen occupied Crimea's parliament building, the parliament held an emergency session. It voted to terminate the Crimean government, and replace Chairman of the Supreme Soviet Mustafa Jemilev with Georgy Kapshuk.
* On the morning of August 31, OMON units from Crimea seized checkpoints on the Isthmus of Perekop and Chonhar peninsula. They had armoured personnel carriers, grenade launchers, assault rifles, machine guns and other weapons. Since then they control all traffic by land between Crimea and continental Ukraine.
* On 31 August 1991, the council of Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine's easternmost region, voted to demand official language status for Russian, a stop to *"ban on the CPSU"*, disarming of Ukrainian self-defence units and a ban for political organizations like UNA-UNSO. They threatened the Ukrainian central authorities, saying that they reserved the right *"to ask for help from the brotherly people of the Soviet Union"*.
* Demonstrators in Mariupol of the Donetsk region stood in front of regional offices, waving Soviet flags. Between 10,000 and 40,000 participated in a pro-Soviet demonstration in Odessa. The city council of Donetsk voted to have a referendum on the status of the region but there was no mention of what question would be put up for a referendum and when.
* In Zaporizhzhia 2,000–10,000 estimated protesters gathered to save the Lenin monument. They also protested against the Kyiv government and in support of Ukrainian OMON troops and Soviet symbols.

### September

#### 1 September

* In the early hours of September 1, a group of 37–89 armed Soviet military men seized control over Simferopol Airport and local TV tower. Later in the day, Sevastopol Airport was occupied in a similar manner as Simferopol's airport.

* In Zaporizhzhia, over 3,000 protested against Russian intervention and pro-Soviet demonstrations. They also protested against people seizing state buildings and raising Soviet and Russian flags over them. Similar rallies were held in Dnipro, Odessa (several thousand), Mykolaiv (according to local media 3,000 to 5,000 people) and Kharkiv (a few thousand protesters).

#### 2 September

* The *de facto* Crimea's head Georgy Kapshuk appealed directly to the leadership of the putschists in Moscow calling for Soviet Union to *"provide assistance in ensuring peace and tranquility on the territory of Crimean SSR"*.
* Protests against the independence of Ukraine and in support of putschist takeover in Crimea occurred throughout Eastern and Southern Ukraine on this day.
* Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Viacheslav Chornovil, signed a decree declaring the appointment of Georgy Kapshuk as the head of Crimea to be unconstitutional.

* Several hundred pro-Russian demonstrators gathered at the Donetsk city administrative building, broke through police barricades, took the facility, and raised the Soviet flag. Some 400–1,000 demonstrators with Soviet flags, opponents of the new authorities in Kyiv, gathered near Odessa Regional State Administration building. They demanded that a referendum on the establishment of an *"Odessa Autonomous Republic"* be held.

#### 3 September

* At a military base near the village of Perevalne, there is an ongoing standoff between a handful of Ukrainian marines loyal to Kyiv and the opposing Soviet forces.

* Pro-Russian separatists consolidated their control of the local Regional Administration in Donetsk. Some groups later protested peacefully against the pro-Soviet occupiers and in support of a united Ukraine. On the evening of 3 September, a large peaceful rally of over 1,000 supporting peace and a united Ukraine was held in central Donetsk.

#### 4 September

* A joint resolution is adopted by the Supreme Soviet of Crimea and the Sevastopol City Soviet which declared the independence of the Republic of Crimea. Mustafa Jemilev, the deposed Crimean leader, announced that this resolution is illegitimate.

* In Donetsk, up to 3,000 protested for unity in Ukraine, the largest of its kind in the eastern Ukrainian city since the unrest began. 2,000 pro-Russia counter-protesters attempted to confront the Ukrainian unionists. Meanwhile, 2,000 pro-Soviet protesters marched in Kharkiv, demanding a referendum on federalism for Ukraine and making Russian a sole state language. Police kept the demonstrators away from the Kharkiv Regional Administration building.

* 400 people attended a pro-Soviet rally in Zaporizhzhia.

#### 8 September

* In Donetsk, 20,000 pro-Soviet activists held a demonstration.
* In Kharkiv 5,000 protested against the pro-Soviet groups.

#### 12 September

* One pro-Ukrainian protester was stabbed to death in the city of Donetsk and a further fifteen were hospitalized after rival rallies clashed in Lenin Square. Around 500 pro-Ukrainian protesters were attacked by 4,000 pro-Moscow protesters.

#### 13 September

* Clashes in Kharkiv between pro-Soviet protesters and an unknown group resulted in the deaths of two people.

#### 15 September

* In Donetsk, protesters stormed the local police headquarters.

#### 17 September

* Members of a large rally in Mariupol demanded that a special session of the City Council would be held to address the question of holding a referendum.

#### 19 September

* Several hundred protesters picketed near the building of the Regional Council with the requirement to hold a referendum in Kharkiv. They held banners *"For the referendum"*, *"Kharkiv is for the Soviet Union"*.

#### 21 September

* In Kherson nearly 600 pro-Soviet supporters held a protest in favour of the federalization of Ukraine, but were met with 1,500 pro-Ukrainian protesters. In Donetsk 4,000 protesters held a pro-Soviet rally and demanded a referendum to give the Donbass region greater autonomy. Nearly 2,000 rallied in Luhansk.

* A Kharkiv demonstration of a few hundred people on 21 September also demanded broad autonomy for south-eastern regions and demanded to *"disarm the UNA-UNSO members"*.

#### 22 September

* In Odessa 6,000–8,000 gathered in an *"anti-fascist"* protest, demanding to stop the alleged political repressions.
* In Donetsk, 3,000 pro-Russian supporters attended a rally.
* In Kharkiv nearly 6,000 demanded a referendum on 27 October on the federal status of Ukraine, to abolish Presidential elections on 1 December, prohibit all *"fascist"* organizations in the country, to recognize Ukraine's independence declaration as illegal. 250 people attended a rival pro-Ukrainian rally supporting Ukrainian independence.
* Over 200 rallied in Zaporizhzhia in favour of the Soviet Union.

#### 24 September

* In Kharkiv more than 1,000 Ukrainians held a counter-Soviet protest. People shouted *"For a united Ukraine, including Crimea!"* and *"No to separatism"*.

#### 28 September

* According to local media, in Kharkiv about 300 people rallied for federalization of Ukraine.
* In Donetsk about 2,000 pro-Soviet supporters attended a rally; the protesters advocated uniting Southern-Eastern Ukraine with the Russian SFSR.

#### 29 September

* In Donetsk about 2,000 pro-Soviet supporters again attended a rally. About 60 of them later shortly blocked several tracks at Donetsk's main railway station. Another rally *"for the unity of Ukraine"* was attacked by about 20 people. Pro-Russian supporters attacked a car with the Ukrainian flag on it, smashing its windows.
* In Luhansk 1,000 people held a pro-Soviet rally. About a fifty people held a counter unity rally *"Luhansk is Ukraine"*.
* In Kharkiv about 3,000 people held a rally (co-organized by the Communist Party of Ukraine) for federalization with anti-Ukrainian slogans and slogans like *"Our language=Russian"* and *"Down with the fascist junta"*. Also in Kharkiv, 250 people held a march *"in support of the unity of Ukraine"*.
* In Odessa 2,500 to 5,000 pro-Ukraine people marched *"for unity in Ukraine"* while there was an another pro-Soviet rally with about 8,000 attendees. Late in the afternoon thousands of pro-Soviet activists attacked participants of the pro-Ukraine march, which attracted up to 2,500–5,000 attendees.
* In Dnipro about one hundred people came out to support Ukrainian independence. Slightly more people gathered at a pro-Soviet meeting organized by Ukrainian communists.
* In Zaporizhzhia 500 pro-Ukrainian demonstrators gathered. The same occurred in Kherson, where more than 500 attended.

### October

#### 5 October

* In Donetsk, 1,000 people attended a pro-Soviet rally.
* The Donetsk Region separatists demanded an extraordinary regional parliament session and announcing a referendum on joining Russia. Residents of Donetsk submitted an open letter calling on the leadership of Ukraine to protect them from the pro-Soviet separatists.
* In Luhansk, 2,000 pro-Soviet protesters rallied in front of the local police headquarters. A police officer was injured and hospitalized as the protesters seized the headquarters. One of the demonstrators also reportedly suffered a head injury. Those who broke into the police building raided the armoury and seized weapons.
* In Kharkiv, a pro-Soviet rally was held and between 4,000 and 20,000 attended. Protesters attacked pro-Ukrainian protesters, who were protected by a column of police to allow them to escape the mob; the pro-Soviet protesters chanted *"Kharkiv is a Russian city!"* and *"Crawl to Lvov!"* Some 3,000 pro-Soviets then rallied in front of the Kharkiv Regional Administration building. An attack on it began after the organizers of the protests urged participants *"to support Donetsk and Luhansk where government buildings were seized earlier"* until the building was seized. About 1,000 people were involved in storming, 60 of whom were militants in balaclavas and camouflage.

#### 6 October

* The protesters in Donetsk proclaimed the *"Donetsk Republic"*. Gunmen then tried to storm a Donetsk TV building, but were deterred by pro-Ukrainian police units.
* In Kharkiv, a pro-Soviet rally was once again held where about 2,000 attended and a pro-Ukraine rally was attended by about 150 people. Around noon about 100 masked men with bats attacked pro-Ukraine demonstrators who responded by throwing bottles at them. Separatists then set the Regional administration building on fire. Other protestors seized the local TV station.
* At Mykolaiv there were clashes between pro-Ukrainian groups, Ukrainian OMON forces and pro-Soviet activists when the latter attempted to storm the local administration building. There were ten wounded. Ukrainian self-defence cleared the pro-Soviet encampment and found guns and other weapons.
* In an address on national TV Ukrainian leader Viacheslav Chornovil stated that the current unrest in eastern Ukraine was a Soviet operation to destabilize Ukraine, overthrow the legitimate government and disrupt planned presidential elections and an attempt by the Soviet Union to *"dismember"* Ukraine. He also vowed to launch a major operation against separatist movements in the country's south-eastern regions.

#### 7 October

* In Kharkiv, the downtown core of the city was blocked and its metro shut down. A pro-Soviet rally was held on Freedom Square by about 2,000 attendees. During the rally, occupants in the regional administration building decided to proclaim pro-Soviet *"Kharkov Republic"*.
* In Luhansk, separatists declared the *"Lugansk Republic"*.
* In the afternoon, about two thousand people rallied in front of the Donetsk regional administration building listening to public speeches about the Donetsk Republic.

#### 9 October

* The number of protesters outside the Donetsk regional administration was in the hundreds. The separatists in the building voted to establish ties with Russia and Belarus and break away from Ukraine.

#### 11 October

* A pro-Ukraine unity rally was held in Kharkiv, attracting more than 2,500 people. 40 pro-Soviet protesters armed with bats were also in the vicinity, along with 200 police officers. A pro-Soviet rally was held next to the Lenin statue, attracting 400.
* In Zaporizhzhia, self-defence units mobilized against pro-Soviet forces and reinforced their road checkpoints.
* A pro-Ukrainian unity rally of 100 people was held in Mykolaiv.

#### 12 October

* Amid rising separatist tensions and clashes in the east, pro-Ukraine rallies were held in Luhansk, Odessa, and Kryvyi Rih. Protesters in Luhansk, numbering about 500, formed a Luhansk self-defence group to counter the separatists. The rally in Kryvyi Rih attracted 150.
* In Mariupol, 300 armed pro-Soviets attacked a pro-Ukraine unity rally, leaving nine injured, six of them in intensive care.
* In Kharkiv, 500 pro-Ukrainian protesters rallied around the regional administration building, with some making it inside. At least 100 pro-Ukrainian protesters were severely beaten in attacks by pro-Soviet protesters. Gunshots and grenade explosions were heard.

#### 13 October

* In Luhansk, 150 people held a pro-Ukraine rally peacefully. Locals began forming self-defence groups to protect from the separatists.
* Ukrainian self-defence volunteers working with police set up roadblocks between Kharkiv and Donetsk to stop separatist movement from spreading to Kharkiv region.

#### 16 October

* In Luhansk, 500 people held a pro-Ukraine rally to support national unity. In Donetsk, over 2,500 rallied against separatism. In Kramatorsk, 500 held a pro-Ukraine rally and were attacked by 200 separatists.

#### 22 October

* In Odessa, pro-Ukrainian protesters joined up to protect the city from pro-Soviet provocateurs. They set up checkpoints around the city.

#### 24 October

* In Odessa Region, seven people were injured, including one police officer, after a grenade attack at a checkpoint near Transnistria.

#### 31 October

* A rally by about 750 pro-government demonstrators in Odessa was attacked by pro-Soviet militants with batons, leaving many dead and wounded. The militants later seized and occupied the Odessa regional administration building. Whilst defending the building, the militants tossed rocks and Molotov cocktails at the pro-Ukrainian protesters below, and also opened fire upon them. At least three people were shot dead and fifteen others were wounded in the clashes.

### November

#### 2 November

* *"Odessa Republic"* was proclaimed by a group of pro-Soviet protesters who seized the regional administration in Odessa Region. 120 demonstrators stormed the local police headquarters in Odessa.

#### 9 November

* Two independence referendums were held in the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. In Donetsk, the organizers stated that 89% voted in favour of self-rule, with 10% against, on a turnout of nearly 75%. In Luhansk, the organizers stated that 96.2% voted for separation. These results could not be verified.

### December

#### 1 December

* Viacheslav Chornovil was elected as the President of Ukraine.