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| In East, Separatists and Fear Stop Voters | In East, Separatists and Fear Stop Voters |
| (4 months later) | |
| DONETSK, Ukraine — Standing in a small park and holding a Soviet flag, Nikolai Brilyov, an enthusiastic member of the breakaway People’s Republic of Donetsk, spent Sunday immersed in civic duties. There was an oligarch to run out of town, and political rallies to attend. None of it, however, included voting in the presidential election. | |
| “That happened in Ukraine,” he explained. “We don’t live there anymore.” | “That happened in Ukraine,” he explained. “We don’t live there anymore.” |
| If western Ukrainians see the vote as the culmination of months of struggle against a corrupt government, many in the troubled east see it as legitimizing a division of the country that began in February with the overthrow of the government in Kiev and that deepened this month with a rudimentary referendum for self-rule in two eastern provinces. | If western Ukrainians see the vote as the culmination of months of struggle against a corrupt government, many in the troubled east see it as legitimizing a division of the country that began in February with the overthrow of the government in Kiev and that deepened this month with a rudimentary referendum for self-rule in two eastern provinces. |
| In Donetsk, the most populous region in the country, just 2 percent of registered voters cast ballots on Sunday, according to the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, a nonprofit organization whose workers monitored the vote. | In Donetsk, the most populous region in the country, just 2 percent of registered voters cast ballots on Sunday, according to the Committee of Voters of Ukraine, a nonprofit organization whose workers monitored the vote. |
| The tiny turnout had much to do with separatist interventions. For days leading up to the vote, armed men closed polling stations and seized voter lists, elections stamps and sometimes even poll workers. In all, only a fifth of the region’s polling stations were open on Sunday, with a turnout at those of about 12 percent, according to the committee. | The tiny turnout had much to do with separatist interventions. For days leading up to the vote, armed men closed polling stations and seized voter lists, elections stamps and sometimes even poll workers. In all, only a fifth of the region’s polling stations were open on Sunday, with a turnout at those of about 12 percent, according to the committee. |
| In the country as a whole, turnout was high, and Western observers said the election would be legal, even without the troubled regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. But many here say they do not believe in its healing qualities. They point to the unnatural ways life has changed in recent months. Ukrainian soldiers stand guard at cement roadblocks on highways near here. And violence has begun to assume a regular rhythm. On Sunday night, one man was killed and another wounded in a shooting involving the seizing of ballots from a voting station, Reuters reported. | In the country as a whole, turnout was high, and Western observers said the election would be legal, even without the troubled regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. But many here say they do not believe in its healing qualities. They point to the unnatural ways life has changed in recent months. Ukrainian soldiers stand guard at cement roadblocks on highways near here. And violence has begun to assume a regular rhythm. On Sunday night, one man was killed and another wounded in a shooting involving the seizing of ballots from a voting station, Reuters reported. |
| “I think there will be war,” said a 56-year-old mining engineer who gave his name as Alexander. “Anyone who thinks logically and isn’t riding a wave of emotion understands this now.” | “I think there will be war,” said a 56-year-old mining engineer who gave his name as Alexander. “Anyone who thinks logically and isn’t riding a wave of emotion understands this now.” |
| The question of whether Ukraine hangs together as a country hinges largely on these rebellious regions and whether the situation here unravels further. That in turn depends on the actions of Ukraine’s enormous neighbor, Russia, whose president, Vladimir V. Putin, has been ruthless in his treatment of Ukraine, a country that has always been in Moscow’s sphere of influence. And as unrest in the east is to Moscow’s benefit, it is unlikely to stop anytime soon, experts said. | The question of whether Ukraine hangs together as a country hinges largely on these rebellious regions and whether the situation here unravels further. That in turn depends on the actions of Ukraine’s enormous neighbor, Russia, whose president, Vladimir V. Putin, has been ruthless in his treatment of Ukraine, a country that has always been in Moscow’s sphere of influence. And as unrest in the east is to Moscow’s benefit, it is unlikely to stop anytime soon, experts said. |
| “This election ratifies the division of Ukraine,” said Keith Darden, a political scientist at American University in Washington. “This is not the end. It’s not marginal. It’s going to grow.” | “This election ratifies the division of Ukraine,” said Keith Darden, a political scientist at American University in Washington. “This is not the end. It’s not marginal. It’s going to grow.” |
| About 73,000 people in the region voted, the committee said. One of them was Ihor Kharchenko, a mechanic in the town of Krasnoarmeysk, west of here, who voted for Petro O. Poroshenko, a pro-European billionaire. Mr. Kharchenko, who supports a united Ukraine, sighed at the “Soviet inertia” of people in his city. | About 73,000 people in the region voted, the committee said. One of them was Ihor Kharchenko, a mechanic in the town of Krasnoarmeysk, west of here, who voted for Petro O. Poroshenko, a pro-European billionaire. Mr. Kharchenko, who supports a united Ukraine, sighed at the “Soviet inertia” of people in his city. |
| “I have hope that if the elections happen more or less successfully, then the energy of these separatists will decrease all by itself somehow,” he said, sitting in his living room. “People are already in horror, even though in Krasnoarmeysk it’s quiet. More or less.” | “I have hope that if the elections happen more or less successfully, then the energy of these separatists will decrease all by itself somehow,” he said, sitting in his living room. “People are already in horror, even though in Krasnoarmeysk it’s quiet. More or less.” |
| “I’ve had it up to here with all this,” he said, clasping his hands around his throat. | “I’ve had it up to here with all this,” he said, clasping his hands around his throat. |
| Here in the regional capital, a city of nearly a million people that is filled with high-rises and car dealerships, not a single polling station was functioning. People strolled up to vote at School No. 5, only to find a sign on a locked door. (The same school had been open for the referendum.) | Here in the regional capital, a city of nearly a million people that is filled with high-rises and car dealerships, not a single polling station was functioning. People strolled up to vote at School No. 5, only to find a sign on a locked door. (The same school had been open for the referendum.) |
| “There’s a spelling error,” a man holding a small white dog on a leash said with a sneer. He was angry at what he said were poorly educated armed men bossing around a silent majority, adding, “It’s a humiliation.” | “There’s a spelling error,” a man holding a small white dog on a leash said with a sneer. He was angry at what he said were poorly educated armed men bossing around a silent majority, adding, “It’s a humiliation.” |
| Fear kept people away. In Volnovakha, a town of weedy parks and Soviet-era buildings close to where 16 Ukrainian soldiers were killed last week, a nurse who was working at a polling station said she had seen more journalists than voters. The station, in the House of Culture, was quiet, and the workers, all women, talked in whispers. Some of them had received threatening letters. | Fear kept people away. In Volnovakha, a town of weedy parks and Soviet-era buildings close to where 16 Ukrainian soldiers were killed last week, a nurse who was working at a polling station said she had seen more journalists than voters. The station, in the House of Culture, was quiet, and the workers, all women, talked in whispers. Some of them had received threatening letters. |
| “It’s frightening,” said the nurse, Valentina Kuzminicha, 68. “But God will judge them.” | “It’s frightening,” said the nurse, Valentina Kuzminicha, 68. “But God will judge them.” |
| Down the street at an auto-parts store, Natalia and her husband, Gennady, the owners, would only talk about the election out of public earshot. They supported the election, but many of their neighbors did not. They have taken down their Ukrainian flag and avoid political discussions. | Down the street at an auto-parts store, Natalia and her husband, Gennady, the owners, would only talk about the election out of public earshot. They supported the election, but many of their neighbors did not. They have taken down their Ukrainian flag and avoid political discussions. |
| “At first we had arguments, but now people are quiet,” said Natalia, who asked that her last name not be used. “People are afraid to say things to each other.” | “At first we had arguments, but now people are quiet,” said Natalia, who asked that her last name not be used. “People are afraid to say things to each other.” |
| Many of those who oppose Ukraine, she said, were projecting 20 years of disappointment onto Kiev and falsely believed that life would be better in Russia. | Many of those who oppose Ukraine, she said, were projecting 20 years of disappointment onto Kiev and falsely believed that life would be better in Russia. |
| That belief rang true in Dokuchayevsk, a small town whose welcome sign had the word “Russia” scrawled on it in red spray paint. People waiting at a bus stop had come from a rally in support of the closure of the main polling station. They talked of Soviet days, when life was stable. | That belief rang true in Dokuchayevsk, a small town whose welcome sign had the word “Russia” scrawled on it in red spray paint. People waiting at a bus stop had come from a rally in support of the closure of the main polling station. They talked of Soviet days, when life was stable. |
| “We don’t want to vote with those fascists,” said Sergei Boltenko, 52, a gravel factory worker. “They are forcing their Ukrainian will on us.” | “We don’t want to vote with those fascists,” said Sergei Boltenko, 52, a gravel factory worker. “They are forcing their Ukrainian will on us.” |
| His wife, Lydia Guseva, said her eyes had been opened since she started to get Russian television a few months ago. | His wife, Lydia Guseva, said her eyes had been opened since she started to get Russian television a few months ago. |
| In Donetsk, a large crowd had gathered outside the compound of Rinat Akhmetov, a local magnate, demanding to be let inside to see his riches. Mr. Brilyov, the supporter of the breakaway republic, was there with his flag. No one seemed to mind that the self-declared prime minister of the separatist group was a political operative from Moscow. He gave a rousing speech denouncing oligarchs, and the crowd cheered. | In Donetsk, a large crowd had gathered outside the compound of Rinat Akhmetov, a local magnate, demanding to be let inside to see his riches. Mr. Brilyov, the supporter of the breakaway republic, was there with his flag. No one seemed to mind that the self-declared prime minister of the separatist group was a political operative from Moscow. He gave a rousing speech denouncing oligarchs, and the crowd cheered. |
| “Our republic is young and has a bright future,” said Mr. Brilyov, who is a janitor. “Happiness is what I feel.” | “Our republic is young and has a bright future,” said Mr. Brilyov, who is a janitor. “Happiness is what I feel.” |