Luhansk People's Republic
Disputed Russian republic in eastern Ukraine / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Luhansk People's Republic or Lugansk People's Republic[lower-alpha 5] (Russian: Луга́нская Наро́дная Респу́блика, romanized: Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika, IPA: [lʊˈɡanskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə]; abbreviated as LPR or LNR, Russian: ЛНР) is a republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast, with its capital in Luhansk.[7][8] The LPR was proclaimed by Russian-backed paramilitaries in 2014, and it initially operated as a breakaway state until it was annexed by Russia in 2022. The entire territory of LPR is viewed as sovereign territory of Ukraine by nearly all UN member states.
This article needs to be updated. (October 2022) |
Luhansk People's Republic[lower-alpha 1]
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Russian Federation (disputed) | |
Anthem: Государственный гимн Луганской Народной Республики Gosudarstvenny gimn Luganskoy Narodnoy Respubliki (Russian) "State Anthem of the Lugansk People's Republic" | |
Federal district | Southern[2] |
Establishment | 27 April 2014[3] |
Annexation by Russia | 30 September 2022 |
Administrative centre | Luhansk |
Government | |
• Body | People's Council |
• Head | Leonid Pasechnik |
Population (2019)[4] | |
• Total | 1,485,300[lower-alpha 4] |
Time zone | UTC+3 (MSK[5]) |
Vehicle registration | 81[6] |
Website | sovminlnr |
Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity in 2014, pro-Russian, counter-revolutionary unrest erupted in the eastern part of the country. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, while the armed separatists seized government buildings and proclaimed the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) and Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) as independent states. This sparked the war in Donbas, part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The LPR and DPR are often described as puppet states of Russia during this conflict.[9][10][11] They received no international recognition from United Nations member states before 2022.
On 21 February 2022, Russia recognised the LPR and DPR as sovereign states. Three days later, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, partially under the pretext of protecting the republics. Russian forces captured more of Luhansk Oblast (almost all of it),[12] which became part of the LPR. In September 2022, Russia proclaimed the annexation of the LPR and other occupied territories, following illegitimate referendums which were illegal under international law. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling on countries not to recognise what it called the "attempted illegal annexation" and demanded that Russia "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw".[13]
The Head of the Luhansk People's Republic is Leonid Pasechnik. According to a report by the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), the ideology of the LPR is shaped by elements of right-wing Russian nationalism, Russian imperialism and Orthodox fundamentalism.[14] Organizations such as the UN Human Rights Office and Human Rights Watch have reported human rights abuses in the LPR, including internment, torture, extrajudicial killings, forced conscription, as well as political and media repression. Ukraine views the LPR and DPR as terrorist organisations.[15]