Coventry University Referendum Expert Explains Putin’s Motivation Behind Potential Ukraine Referendums

Politics 5 May 2022 By

Russia is reportedly pushing for a referendum in two Eastern areas of Ukraine – Donetsk and Luhansk – and Coventry University political science Professor Matt Qvortrup is available for an interview to explain the motivation behind Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s latest potential vote.

The ‘referendum tactic’ is one Putin has used before in Crimea. South Ossetia, and the US ambassador to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Michael Carpenter, have said: ‘Highly credible’ evidence indicating ‘that the Kremlin may try to hold a sham referendum to add a veneer of democratic electoral legitimacy.’ He said this could happen as soon as mid-May, and Russia may try the same ploy in Kherson.

Described on the BBC as the ‘world authority on referendums’, Professor Qvortrup has written about referendums in areas occupied by Russia in a book called Referendums and Ethnic Conflict.

Due to that background, Professor Qvortrup is available to give insight on:

  • The motivation behind a referendum in Donetsk and Luhansk
  • Russia’s approach to democracy
  • The history of Russian referendums
  • Why do they hold referendums?
  • Why ballots were used as toilet paper in one 1990s Russian referendum
  • How have the tactics of Napoleon, Aoyatola, Khromeni, Ferdinand Marcos, Hitler, and other notorious dictators inspired this Russian tactic?