Igor Strelkov: Pro-Russian separatists have brought poverty and ruin to the Donbas

UA Wire, Friday, March 25, 2016 9:58:00 PM

The former Minister of Defense of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Igor Strelkov (aka Igor Girkin), stated that the separatists have brought ruin to the Donbas, built "simulacrums of republics", and created "a pigsty and a mess". Before the separatists came to power, the quality of life in Donetsk was higher, Strelkov stated, as reported by Chetvertaya Vlast.

Strelkov made these comments during an interview with representatives of the NOD (National Liberation Movement), a Russian nationalist organization. His comments were published by State Duma Deputy Yevgeny Fyodorov.

"The patriotism there is at such a level that the people who come see me say one thing: it is a pigsty and a mess! Everything that happens in Donetsk and Lugansk. I have no reason not to believe these people, because they are my comrades. Nobody came and said: Igor Ivanovich, it became better. Everyone says, a pigsty and a mess! That's what we've built in the Donbass, unfortunately," Strelkov said.

He explained that the pro-Russian separatists have built a copy of the Russian oligarchic system, and consequently there is no power for the people, which is what the masses rallied for in the spring of 2014. According to Strelkov, the war in the Donbas has significantly lowered the living conditions of the local population.

"Do people live better because these republics exist? 'Re Publica' - a government of the people. That's the translation, right? But there is no power of the people. Not even close to it. It is a copy of the modern Russian oligarchic system in its more aggravated form. Sometimes it's even a caricature. There is no power of the people there. The local oligarchical dictatorship is emerging. Actually, it never left. They are all the same people. A massive influx of the Ukrainian officials including the SSU [Security Service of Ukraine] officers, who recently were fighting for the other side, is happening," he stated.

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