Few in Donetsk had heard of Denis Pushilin a couple of weeks ago; now he holds court as the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic
For the past fortnight, Denis Pushilin, the prime minister of the temporary government of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk has presided, at least ostensibly, over a pro-Russian uprising that has seized town halls, police stations and other buildings in about ten towns across eastern Ukraine.
Few people in Donetsk had heard of the diminutive, smartly dressed 32-year-old businessman until he emerged as a leader of the group that occupied the regional administration building here two weeks ago.
Born and raised in Makeyevka, just outside Donetsk, he graduated from the local engineering college and came out of his national service in the Ukrainian army unsure what to do.
"I tried being a security guard, but it didn't last a month. It was boring," he said.
There followed stints in advertising and a period at a regional confectionary and baked products distribution firm, before he got involved with MMM, the company behind a notorious pyramid scheme that deprived thousands of Russian investors of up to $10 million in the early 1990s (he denies any wrong doing).
The city's residents have all heard of him now. On April 6 several hundred pro-Russian separatist protesters stormed the regional government building here, appointed a people's council and demanded a referendum on regional status.
