Self-Identification of Donbass Residents in the Context of Socio-Political Views: A Sociolinguistic Aspect

The article is dedicated to the study of self-identification of Donbas residents in the context of identity problems in Ukraine as a whole. The article reflects the results of a pilot sociological survey conducted in the fall of 2020. The obtained data are compared to other public opinion polls related to the issues of identity, socio-political views and ideological preferences of Donbas residents. In addition, this topic was considered using interdisciplinary approach and with the help of ethnolinguistic expert examination based on the speech manifestations of inhabitants of the unrecognized people's republics on the Internet resources. The study of different points of view on identity problems in Donbas on both sides of the conflict showed that the views of researchers majorly coincide. The differences are in the evaluative plane and in the desire to substantiate a certain position. According to the study, a generalized opinion regarding the reasons for what happened in Donbas in 2014 can be formulated as: a sense of alienation, rejection of the change of power in Kyiv and Maidan ideas (nationalism, Nazism, etc.), opposition to the promotion of Ukrainian culture and oppression of the Russian language and culture. A logical continuation was the desire for rapprochement with Russia and annexation following the example of Crimea. The regional identity of a "Donbas resident" remains the most prioritized, and the proportion of those clinging to that identity coincides with other studies conducted on the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. A significant proportion is represented by those who do not expect changes in the status quo of the unrecognized republics in the coming year, which shows the spread of apathy in society. An open question regarding the desired changes demonstrated that about half of respondents expressed aspiration for their land to join Russia. We pay attention to the presence of people (about a sixth part of the respondents) who want integration back into Ukraine, and those who would accept joining either country for the sake of peaceful resolution. The comparison of the survey data with materials from Internet sources shows complete coincidence of the results. Speech manifestations and texts in microblogs reveal the experience of Donbas residents and allow tracing the dynamics of opinions in the course of events. The most popular topic is still rejection of the imposed Ukrainian national identity and strengthening of the regional Donbas one with the development of such a variant of it as "Donetsk/Luhansk Russians". The group of "real" Donetsk residents is isolated on a broad basis of the community of fellow countrypeople, united by cultural, linguistic and ideological priorities. This group has jointly endured the tragedy of war on their land all these years. Appeals to "Moscow" vary in a wide emotional range from expressions of love and gratitude to all sorts of accusations against those Russian officials who do not understand the suffering of Donbas residents.

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