Czarne złoto: Wojny o węgiel z Donbasu by Karolina Baca-Pogorzelska and Michał Potocki

Abstract

Reviewed by: Czarne złoto: Wojny o węgiel z Donbasu by Karolina Baca-Pogorzelska and Michał Potocki Marta Studenna-Skrukwa Karolina Baca-Pogorzelska and Michał Potocki. Czarne złoto: Wojny o węgiel z Donbasu. 328 pp. Wołowiec: Wydawnictwo Czarne, 2020. ISBN: 978-83-8049-996-6. The conflict in Donbas has lasted for over seven years. Given the numbers of casualties documented by the United Nations (up to 13,000 killed, 30,000 wounded and 1,500,000 internally displaced persons) the war in the east of Ukraine can be considered "the bloodiest war and biggest humanitarian crisis in Europe since the collapse of Yugoslavia."1 Although the period of tremendous military escalation from 2014 and 2015 has already passed into Ukrainian history, the current situation in the region is far from desirable. As the measures to restore peace in Donbas set out in the Minsk-2 agreement have never been fully implemented, every day that the ceasefire remains intact should be treated as a success. If the Donetsk and Luhansk regions' cultural identity and industrialized economy posed a challenge to the transition of Ukraine before the conflict, the war has exacerbated the situation and plunged the region into prolonged crisis, forcing the question of its integrity to resonate loudly. The fragile peace that remains after the economic collapse, coupled with the instability of the local authorities, has made it difficult for the region's inhabitants to adjust to these extremely unfavorable circumstances. The ban on trade with separatist republics, instituted in July 2017 by the government in Kyiv and related to Ukrainian industry asset acquisition in the nongovernment-controlled territories, has caused supply chain obstacles for both sides. Damaged infrastructure, mine-contaminated areas, water shortages, and the need to cross into Kyiv-controlled territory in order to access social benefits are basic examples of the everyday challenges of life in Donbas. Living conditions are bound to have deteriorated due to Covid-19. However, little is known about the state of the epidemic in the region. Academics have been struggling with the lack of reliable information about what is currently going on in the region. Local media in the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republic are completely subordinated to Russian propaganda and can only serve as a source for researching official political discourse. Both Ukrainian and Western journalists, as well as international humanitarian organizations (with the exception of Russian ones), face severe restrictions on access to separatist-controlled territory. All of this has contributed to a situation whereby the internal politics of the nongovernment-controlled territories remain obscure to outside observers. In this context Karolina Baca-Pogorzelska and Michał Potocki's book, Czarne złoto: Wojny o węgiel z Donbasu (Black Gold: Wars for Coal from Donbas), published by Czarne Publishing House last [End Page 175] year, is a real achievement. The book is devoted to the problem of the illegal coal trade in Donbas, which continues despite the ban imposed by Ukraine. A two-year investigation of the topic, which included engagement with twelve countries, preceded the book's release. The authors' findings concerning Donbas coal smuggling were published as a series of articles, for which the authors won the Grand Press, the most prestigious award for journalism in Poland, in 2018. The material gathered proved sizeable enough to merit publication in book form. The authors of the volume are both experienced journalists with specializations in the topic of mining. For over a decade, until 2019, Karolina Baca-Pogorzelska worked for the daily Polish economic and legal newspapers Rzeczpospolita and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna; during that time she published three books on related topics.2 Michał Potocki works as a section editor in the aforementioned Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, as well as writing for the bimonthly Nowa Europa Wschodnia. His two previous books established his credentials as one of the most competent Polish journalists reporting and interpreting the events currently taking place in Ukraine.3 The combined efforts of these authors represent the best of high-quality journalism, while also providing the reader with useful historical background. Czarne złoto is timely and significant for several reasons. Firstly, it draws attention to the Donbas conflict at a...