Russian mercenary and propagandist Zakhar Prilepin, who fought in the Donbas, has called Russian chauvinist Alexander Kazakov the founding father of the "DNR" and the main ideologist of the so-called Russian Spring. He wrote this on his Facebook as part of the election campaign for the Duma election in Russia.
"Frankly speaking, Kazakov is one of the founding fathers of the DNR, a friend and assistant of Zakharchenko and the main ideologist of free Donbas from the beginning of the Russian Spring to the death of our Commander", - Prilepin casually denied the Kremlin's propaganda cliché that the Russian occupation of Donbas is "internal Ukrainian conflict" and "civil war".
Alexander Kazakov ran for the Russian parliament in the Irkutsk oblast, Zabaykalsky Krai, Buryatia and Tuva from A Just Russia – For Truth party, but lost the vote.