Turchak named November 4 as a possible date for referendums on joining Russia

Secretary of the General Council of United Russia and First Vice Speaker of the Federation Council Andrey Turchak declaredthat referendums in the Donbass “will certainly take place, and already this year.”

“It is correct to hold them on November 4, the Day of National Unity. This is a historic date that unites us all. It unites into the very space of the Russian world that the inhabitants of Donbass and the liberated territories dream of. It will be right and symbolic to hold referendums on this very day,” he wrote in his Telegram channel. It is noteworthy that earlier Turchak and Russians spoke more than once about holding referendums this year, but this is the first time that a politician names a specific, albeit possible, date.

What question will be submitted to referenda, Turchak does not specify. He does not specify in which territories the plebiscite will take place. “Donetsk, Luhansk and many other Russian cities will finally return to their native harbor,” he said.

In his post, he refers to the results of social studies published today about the readiness of people to “become part of a big Russia.”

Turchak published his post almost simultaneously with the INSOMAR research center, which presented the results on September 7 survey in the territories where the military special operation was carried out. Sociologists asked the respondents a question: “Personally, would you like the territory of your region to remain part of Ukraine, become part of Russia, or become an independent state after the completion of the military operation?”

In the Zaporozhye region of Ukraine, according to these sociologists, 71% of the respondents declared their desire to become part of Russia, 6% to remain part of Ukraine, the same number – to become an independent state, 17% found it difficult to answer. In the Kherson region, respectively, 63% want to go to Russia, 11% would prefer to remain part of Ukraine, 7% would like to exist independently, 19% find it difficult to answer.

The survey involved 1,000 respondents in each region.

Sociological data on the preferences of the independent DPR and LPR, where referendums were already held in 2014, are not provided by INSOMAR.

Vedomosti wrote at the end of August, that the Russian authorities abandoned the idea of ​​combining the referendums with a single voting day on 11 September. Three sources of Vedomosti explained this by the fact that the Russian army and the forces of the republics may not have time to take control of all the necessary territory. September 1 RBC wrote citing sources that the Kremlin is considering the option of holding referendums in the DPR, LPR and Russian-controlled territories of Ukraine until the end of autumn.

Turchak’s words about a specific date for the referendum still sound like an assumption, says political analyst Alexander Asafov. At this stage, “there is still a lot of work to be done to restore peaceful life”: “People are returning, but for representativeness of people there should be more people, and for this it is necessary to restore infrastructure, people’s houses.” Political scientist Konstantin Kalachev believes that the referendum may indeed take place soon: “Back in 2014, there were rallies in Donbass for joining Russia for the sake of social benefits, pensions, salaries – and this must be done.”

The referendum held on November 4 could help give the holiday a contemporary meaning, Kalachev says: “For this date to go down in history not in connection with the events of the distant past, the Time of Troubles.” “On a symbolic date, everything is perceived differently, an additional “historical idea” appears, which allows you to complement the motive of unity and community,” says Asafov. The fact that the option of referendums on November 4 is not ruled out, Vedomosti allowed in July.