What is the Smell of Capitalism in Donbass?

I thought this piece from the 'Ostrov' website by Dr Adam Swain from the University of Nottingham, England, and Alexander Lyakh from Dontesk, worthy of a wider audience:

A couple of quotes:

"It is customary in many ‘Orange’ analyses to paint Donetsk business and politics ‘black’. The Donbas is widely associated with a passive political culture and a regional elite whose authoritarianism apparently did not preclude election falsification. Equally economic growth is associated with ‘mafias’, ‘bandits’ and ‘clans’ that colluded to rig the nascent market.....

It seems to me that there are two particularly relevant questions that Orange sympathizers need to answer. First, if you don’t like what has emerged in the Donbas in recent years what exactly was the alternative? Second, how do you explain the very real economic and social gains that have been made in the Donbas in the last few years?"