The Republic of Stakhanov was a proposed separatist republic of Pavel Dryomov on the territory of the city of Stakhanov within the separatist Luhansk People's Republic. Before the war Dryomov was a bricklayer in Stakhanov. At the beginning of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, Dryomov offered Stakhanov citizens an alternate vision to that of the LPR - a new, socialist neo-Soviet, "Cossack" republic "that works for the poor and elderly". In 2014 Dryomov was called the "savior of Stakhanov" by the British journalist who wrote an article about him in Politico magazine. According to Carroll, one of the main points of departure between The Republic of Stakhanov and the Luhansk People's Republic was whether to adhere to the Minsk Protocol ceasefire deal with Ukraine. Dryomov advocated continuing