rebekka bakken tour 2023

Rebekka Bakken

Concerts and tour dates, fan reviews.

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About rebekka bakken.

Always on my mind

1. Little rebel

2. Red right hand

3. Break my heart again

5. Vincent (starry starry night)

6. Here comes the flood

7. We don´t eat

8.  Louisiana 1927

9. Love hurts

10. Where teardrops fall

11. We all fall in love sometimes

12. Brand new angel

13. (Everything I do) I do it for you

14. Yesterday

15. It must have been love

On her album “Always On My Mind”, which is set to be released by Sony Masterworks on April 28, 2023, Norwegian singer and songwriter Rebekka Bakken reinvents her favourite songs with the sound of atmospheric Scandinavian Pop and Jazz. Together with her band, she adopts classics such as “Yesterday” by Lennon/McCartney, “Here Comes The Flood” by Peter Gabriel or “Why” by Annie Lennox as well as tunes by a new generation of contemporary songwriters like “Break My Heart Again” by Finneas O`Connell. In an intimate band setting with some of Norway’s finest studio musicians, the multi-gold award-winning musician and producer taps into the mystical depths in these songs. Rebekka Bakken skilfully orchestrates the whale-like sounds of guitarist Eivind Aarset with the ethereal organ and synthesizer pads of Jørn Øien and Torjus Vierli and waves them into emotional piano chords, driving bass lines of Tor Egil Kreken and all-acoustic laid-back drum beats of Rune Arnesen. It is this multi-layered soundscape that sets the foundation for the breathtakingly soulful voice of Rebekka Bakken, who has been compared to Janis Joplin.

“These songs have ‘always been on my mind’ and inspired my own songwriting. They are the ‘soundtrack of my life’ and some of them have stuck with me since my childhood. I have developed my own voice listening to some of these songs and it is just the right moment to re-interpret them my way”, Rebekka Bakken says.

“Always On My Mind” includes 15 colorful songs by Elton John, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Nick Cave and more.

NEW ALBUM: Things You Leave Behind

Release date: Sept 28th 2018

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E-Mail: [email protected] Booking: [email protected]

REBEKKA BAKKEN

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• August 8, 2023 Setlist

Rebekka Bakken Setlist at Petruskirche, Kiel, Germany

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Tour: Things You Leave Behind Tour 2019 Tour statistics Add setlist

• Closer Play Video
• Black Shades Play Video
• Things You Leave Behind Play Video
• Here Comes the Flood Play Video
• Why ? Play Video
• Little Drop of Poison Play Video
• Korset vil jeg aldri svike ( [traditional]  cover) Play Video
• Break My Heart Again Play Video
• True North Play Video
• Yankee Days Play Video
• Any Pretty Girl Play Video
• Powder Room Collapse Play Video
• Love Is Everything Play Video
• Louisiana 1927 Play Video
• Ghost in This House Play Video
• Yesterday Play Video

Edits and Comments

5 activities (last edit by MSP172 , 12 Aug 2023, 21:17 Etc/UTC )

Songs on Albums

• Black Shades
• Things You Leave Behind
• Yankee Days
• Break My Heart Again
• Here Comes the Flood
• Louisiana 1927
• Ghost in This House
• Powder Room Collapse
• Any Pretty Girl
• Little Drop of Poison
• Love Is Everything
• Korset vil jeg aldri svike by [traditional]

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Rebekka Bakken

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Rebekka Bakken Gig Timeline

• May 26 2022 W-Festival 2022 Frankfurt, Germany Add time Add time
• Aug 27 2022 KulturImPark 2022 Braunschweig, Germany Add time Add time
• Aug 08 2023 Petruskirche This Setlist Kiel, Germany Add time Add time
• Sep 29 2023 Altes Kino Rankweil, Austria Add time Add time
• Oct 18 2023 Rockefeller Music Hall Oslo, Norway Start time: 8:00 PM 8:00 PM

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Rebekka Bakken

Rebekka Bakken's new album “Always On My Mind” was released in April 2023. Norwegian singer and songwriter Rebekka Bakken reinvents her favourite songs with the sound of atmospheric Scandinavian Pop and Jazz. Together with her band, she adopts classics such as “Yesterday” by Lennon/McCartney, “Here Comes The Flood” by Peter Gabriel or “Why” by Annie Lennox as well as tunes by a new generation of contemporary songwriters like “Break My Heart Again” by Finneas O`Connell. In an intimate band setting with some of Norway’s finest studio musicians, the multi-gold award-winning musician and producer taps into the mystical depths in these songs. Rebekka Bakken skilfully orchestrates the whale-like sounds of guitarist Eivind Aarset with the ethereal organ and synthesizer pads of Jørn Øien and Torjus Vierli and waves them into emotional piano chords, driving bass lines of Tor Egil Kreken and all-acoustic laid-back drum beats of Rune Arnesen. It is this multi-layered soundscape that sets the foundation for the breathtakingly soulful voice of Rebekka Bakken, who has been compared to Janis Joplin.

“These songs have ‘always been on my mind’ and inspired my own songwriting. They are the ‘soundtrack of my life’ and some of them have stuck with me since my childhood. I have developed my own voice listening to some of these songs and it is just the right moment to re-interpret them my way”, Rebekka Bakken says.

“Always On My Mind” includes 15 colorful songs by Elton John, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Nick Cave and more.

"I love to put everything into my music!" There is hardly a sentence that characterizes Rebekka Bakken more aptly than this. And anyone who has ever been lucky enough to experience a concert with her knows how true this statement is: When Rebekka Bakken takes the stage, the concert hall is transformed into an energetic place. If she tickles the first notes from her Bechstein grand piano, then these lead deep into the emotional world of an artist who is as sensitive as entertaining. And when she sends her powerful songs into the hall with her crystal clear, always precise voice, no one can escape her spell. Rebekka Bakken sings, whispers and calls, ensnares and laughs. No question, she lives her music. But who is this artist? Rebekka Bakken grew up in a small town near Oslo. Her musicality is encouraged as a child, she learns the violin and the piano, later turns to singing, intones church hymns as bright and tours the club scene with smaller rock and funk bands in Oslo. This triggers a longing in her that only a real metropolis can satisfy. Rebekka Bakken is drawn to the city of cities, in New York she plays with many famous musicians - and begins her jazz phase with the Austrian guitar-player Wolfgang Muthspiel. Rebekka Bakken returns to Europe, lives alternately in Vienna and in a hut in Sweden. In 2003 her first solo album is released: "The Art of How to Fall". It is a first indication of the path the musician is taking: as a charismatic and sensual singer-songwriter who cannot be assigned to any genre, whose songs oscillate between pop and jazz, R&B and rock. Carried by a voice that easily goes over three octaves. More albums followed, in which Rebekka Bakken explores her possibilities. "Is That You?", "I Keep My Cool", "Morning Hours", "September" and the "Little Drop of Poison" recorded with a big band. It has received the highest music awards in Austria and Germany several times, such as the golden record. After New York and Vienna, the Norwegian is drawn back to her homeland, now she lives in Oslo with her husband, son and royal poodle. There - there? Here in Oslo? - "Things You Leave Behind" is also published. Rebekka Bakken breaks new ground, the album is released on a new label. And it offers a new Bakken-sound: powerfully orchestrated by a band of top-class and playful musicians, characterized by a good-humored singer who looks at her life with serenity and shares her observations from human interaction with relentless precision. "Things You Leave Behind" has received critical acclaim, and the subsequent tour takes Rebekka Bakken on a wave of emotions through Europe. "Winter Nights" is the title of the current album, which was released in October 2020. And again Rebekka Bakken shows a new side. This time it's more the soft tones that shape the music. She tells of her spirituality, of moments that in the year of the pandemic will certainly turn out differently than one would have wished. And she sings some - preferably selected - Christmas carols. It is - that too: typically Rebekka Bakken - a very personal selection. The Norwegian interprets world hits like "Last Christmas" or "Fairytale of New York" and presents her own compositions such as the spherical "May the Night be gentle" or the goose bumps hymn "Wonder in Your Eyes". "Winter Nights" is what the German music portal laut.de says: The album offers "contemplation instead of Christmas kitsch", and "the Scandinavian is vocally at the height of her ability."

2023 Always On My Mind (Sony Music Germany) 2020 Winter Nights (Sony Music Germany) 2018 Things you leave behind (Sony Music Germany) 2016 Most Personal (Universal Music Germany) 2014 Little Drop Of Poison (Universal Music Germany) 2011 September (Universal Music Germany) 2009 Morning Hours (Universal Music Germany) 2006 I Keep My Cool (Universal Music Austria) 2005 Is That You? (Universal Music Austria) 2003 The Art Of How To Fall (Universal Music)

"A voice that leaves you speechless" - Süddeutsche Zeitung "A siren. Whoever hears them is lost. Erotic right up to the tips of your hair. " - FAZ „Schön, emotional, entspannt - das ist die Musik. Warten Sie nur ab, bis wir anfangen, von der Sängerin zu schwärmen!“ - Jazzecho "Fragilität hat noch selten so viel Kraft gebündelt", - Oberösterreichische Nachrichten "die Gesangssensation des Jahres" - AZ

• Rebekka Bakken Band (Always on my Mind)
• Christmas Project (December Nights)

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Rebekka Bakken concert reviews and tour history

• rating: 100% (2)

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Fans' concert reviews, frankfurter hof in mainz, germany on tue, 12 may 2015.

Outstanding performance of Rebekka as well as of the while band. Great musicians!!!!!

Outstanding performance- I loved every Minute of it. I Would like to know where I can find the Songs that Are Not on any of the CDs Sold yesterday...? Like "waiter and cake"? Can you help me?

Rated concerts

• Frankfurter Hof in Mainz, Germany Tue, 12 May 2015 100% from 2 ratings

Ratings View all

• one of the best: 2 100%
• fantastic: 0 0%
• great: 0 0%
• disappointing: 0 0%
• should've stayed at home: 0 0%

Rebekka Bakken 2024 tour dates

Rebekka bakken tour history, about rebekka bakken.

Rebekka Bakken was born 54 years ago, on Saturday, 4 April 1970.

Based on our research data, it appears, that the first Rebekka Bakken concert happened 20 years ago on Mon, 02 May 2005 in Großer Sendesaal des RBB - Berlin, Germany and that the last Rebekka Bakken concert was 2 months ago on Sat, 13 Jul 2024 in Burgarena Finkenstein - Villach, Austria.

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Last information data update: 21 days ago

REBEKKA BAKKEN

• Territory: World minus GAS
• Tour Availability   2024: Dates on request
• Booking    Kjell Kalleklev / +47 911 03 280 ( e-post )
• «Rebekka Bakken tolker sine favorittlåter på nydelig vis». NPS
• -Herlige cover-Bakken 5/6 NETTAVISEN

Rebekka Bakken is one of the most distinctive and exciting voices in Europe. It’s hard to put her in any musical booth – singer-songwriter, jazz, Americana, folk, soul or blues – Rebekka visits most genres. After many years abroad, Rebekka moved back to Norway, but is still often seen on stage around festivals in Europe.

2023: New album released 28 april.

On her album “Always On My Mind”,  released by Sony Masterworks on April 28, 2023,  Rebekka Bakken reinvents her favourite songs with the sound of atmospheric Scandinavian Pop and Jazz. Together with her band, she adopts classics such as “Yesterday” by Lennon/McCartney, “Here Comes The Flood” by Peter Gabriel or “Why” by Annie Lennox as well as tunes by a new generation of contemporary songwriters like “Break My Heart Again” by Finneas O`Connell. In an intimate band setting with some of Norway’s finest studio musicians, the multi-gold award-winning musician and producer taps into the mystical depths in these songs.

Rebekka Bakken skilfully orchestrates the whale-like sounds of guitarist Eivind Aarset with the ethereal organ and synthesizer pads of Jørn Øien and Torjus Vierli and waves them into emotional piano chords, driving bass lines of Tor Egil Kreken and all-acoustic laid-back drum beats of Rune Arnesen. It is this multi-layered soundscape that sets the foundation for the breathtakingly soulful voice of Rebekka Bakken, who has been compared to Janis Joplin.

“These songs have ‘always been on my mind’ and inspired my own songwriting. They are the ‘soundtrack of my life’ and some of them have stuck with me since my childhood. I have developed my own voice listening to some of these songs and it is just the right moment to re-interpret them my way”, Rebekka Bakken says. “Always On My Mind” includes 15 colorful songs by Elton John, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Nick Cave and more.

«Things You Leave Behind»  presents Rebekka Bakken as an extraordinarily mature singer and songwriter. The album title marks both a new beginning and a retrospective and stands for music that experiences its future in the here and now. It is her personal liberation and a general slap in the face of critics and other unconscientious objectors. «The world has changed – and I’m not ready for it,» says Rebekka Bakken.

On Winter Nights ​Bakken interprets Christmas carols and songs for the wintry season with her powerful and expressive voice which easily encompasses three octaves. Among other songs, she sings Calling All Angels, In The Bleak Midwinter and Silent Night, and also adds a different, a gentle and romantic glow, to Last Christmas by Wham!. Because Rebekka Bakken is not only a singer but a composer, too, she wrote seven of her own songs for Winter Nights, perfectly rounding out the contemplative winter album.

The songs the artist has chosen, both by others and from her own pen, reveal the singer’s passionate yet also unconventional relationship with the holiday season. “ This time of year can have so many aspects, it can be both heaven and hell at the same time. I like the Christmas message, the message of newborn awareness. The things I associate with Christmas are full of joy and beauty. But sometimes you also have to make your way through the holiday season in difficult circumstances. Christmas gives more intensity to your life then, too.” I’ve always dreamed of doing a winter album because I adore the winter and composing songs for the holiday season. A never-ending stream of these songs seems to pour out when I delve into this part of my music-making. I’ve been singing Kyrie Eleison for months and I heard my neighbour whistling the melody when I was out in my garden.”

An intensity which Rebekka Bakken consummately turns into personally felt music on Winter Nights. For her arrangements stand apart, do not rely on what has come before, are never excessive. Instead, with almost minimalist instrumentation for piano, guitar, bass and drums, she expresses a perfect sense of ease. This is an organic album produced by pure musicians in a very relaxed mood.

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2. etape af Tour de Luxembourg

Hvad skete der? På en ellers trist dag for Lidl-Trek, der mistede Mattias Skjelmose i et styrt, spurtede Mads Pedersen sig til en suveræn sejr på 2. etape af Tour de Luxembourg, hvor Mathieu van der Poel med en 2. plads forsvarede førertrøjen.

- Det var godt nok atypisk kørsel fra ham, synes jeg

Lyn-analyse.

Alex Kirsch afleverede Mads Pedersen fra spids, og selvom Van der Poel havde den perfekte position, og der var modvind, kunne hollænderen end ikke prøve at gå forbi. Det var en ren magtdemonstration.

Men det var godt nok atypisk kørsel fra Mads P. og holdet i dag. De plejer slet ikke at være så passive, som de ellers var.

Dermed var der også oprejsning til Lidl på en ellers trist dag forårsaget af Skjelmoses exit. 

Tak for i dag

Vi fik ingen reaktion fra Van der Poel, så jeg lukker ned for nu. I aften kommer der en optakt til morgendagens kongeetape, og - hvis jeg når det - også optakt til lørdagens Super 8 Classic. Husk også, at optakten til Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen er klar. I morgen liveblogger jeg fra både i Flandern og Luxembourg.

Tak for en flot, dansk cykeldag!

Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen

I mellemtiden kan jeg reklamere for Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen, der køres i morgen. Det er et sprinterløb, men selvom det bare er et 1.1-løb, har det et rystende godt felt. Det er utvivlsomt et af årets bedste sprinterfelter, for de er der næsten alle sammen.

Jeg liveblogger derfra i morgen, og I kan allerede nu læse optakten .

Afventer reaktion fra Van der Poel

Jeg afventer lige en eventuel reaktion fra Van der Poel, inden jeg lukker ned.

Interview med Mads P.

Mads P.: Jeg ved ikke, om jeg er heldig. Jeg har et ret godt hold. Jeg tror ikke, at det er held. Det er bare gode ryttere. Det var en meget hård finale. På stigningen med 4-5 km igen kom Uno-X et meget hårdt angreb. Jeg havde Amanuel til at sætte et hårdt tempo. Vi kunne lukke det, og ingen andre ville angribe. På nedkørslen var det fuld gas fra Amanuel. Derefter surfede vi lidt her og der. Quinn og Alex kørte et perfekt lead-out til sidst.

Hver dag siger Alex, hvornår vi skal være fremme, og hvornår vi kan tage den med ro. Det er vigtigt at have ham her, men generelt er han en meget vigtig for mig i løbet af hele sæsonen. I en finale som denne er det ikke det samme, når han ikke er der.

Vi mistede Skjelmose i dag. Planen var at køre klassement med ham. Nu kan vi i det mindste tage hjem med en etapesejr. Det er okay. Men vi vil selvfølgelig have mere. I morgen er en virkelig hård dag, der ikke passer mig, men Quinn kører virkelig godt og er i god form. Vi forsøger at sætte ham op til noget godt i morgen.

Samlet stilling

• Mathieu van der Poel 7.27.39
• Christophe Laporte +0.10
• Andreas Kron +0.12
• Marc Hirschi
• Idar Andersen +0.15
• Harry Sweeny
• Antonio Tiberi +0.16
• Mirco Maestri
• Jon Barrenetxea
• Finn Fisher-Black
• Mads Pedersen 3.41.27
• Mathieu van der Poel
• Robin Froidevaux
• Christophe Laporte
• Fred Wright
• Ivo Oliveira
• Laurence Pithie
• Lorenzo Milesi
• Antonio Tiberi

Van der Poel holder trøjen

Van der Poel sikrer sig 6 vigtige bonussekunder og står efterhånden ganske stærkt i klassementet.

Oprejsning til Lidl

Dermed var der også oprejsning til Lidl på en ellers trist dag forårsaget af Skjelmoses exit. Nu glæder jeg mig til at høre, hvad han har at sige, for det var godt nok atypisk kørsel fra ham og holdet i dag. De plejer slet ikke at være så passive.

Jeg ved ikke, om Kirsch havde problemer på bakken. Han kom meget sent frem, men han var der, da det gjaldt. Han afleverede Mads P. fra spids, og selvom Van der Poel havde den perfekt position, og der var modvind, kunne hollænderen end ikke prøve at gå forbi. Det var en ren magtdemonstration - særligt i lyset af den hårde modvind.

Længere tilbage greb Froidevaux hjulet på Van der Poel, og det sikrede ham en fin 3. plads foran Laporte, der nok engang måtte sande, at han ikke er skabt til denne slags massespurt.er

Lonardi blev 5 foran Wright og Oliveira.

Mads P. åbner - og han vinder suverænt! Van der Poel 2, Froidevaux 3.

Bag Mads P. er det Van der Poel og Laporte.

Kirsch kører den hjem for Mads P.

Visma op på siden af Simmons. De har Laporte med sig.

Kirsch er kommet frem. Han går ind foran Mads P. Simmons forrest.

Simmons og Mads . forrest. Han mangler Kirsch. Van der Poel har danskerens hjul. Derefter Laporte - altså de tre store favoritter.

Mads P. sidder helt fremme på hjul af Simmons, men Kirsch er der ikke. Pithie i en god position. Det samme er Van der Poel.

Chaves angriber, men uden held.

STYRT!!! En Ag2r-rytter styrter helt fremme. Jeg nåede ikke at se hvem.

Ghebreigzabhier fører videre.

Ayuso er hentet. Vi har samling. Vi får vores spurt.

Ayuso har rundet toppen. Lidl holder fronten med Ghebreigzabhier.

Han får et lille hul, men Ghebreigzabhier holder ham i snor for Mads P.

Så bliver det alvor!!! Ayuso tester formen med et angreb!

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Upcoming concerts for Rebekka Bakken

• Wednesday October 02, 2024 Rebekka Bakken Rockefeller, Oslo

Wednesday 18 October 2023

Rebekka Bakken

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Badstugata 2 0183 Oslo, Norway 22 20 32 32 www.rockefeller.no/

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Doors open: 19:00

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Donetsk and Luhansk: What you should know about the ‘republics’

Who has followed Russia in recognising the controversial, Moscow-backed statelets in Ukraine? And what is life like there?

Kyiv, Ukraine – Moscow-backed separatists have controlled the southeastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, known collectively as Donbas, for almost eight years.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised them only on Monday, paving the way for the official presence of Russian troops in the rebel-controlled areas that occupy about a third of Donetsk and Luhansk.

So far, only Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Syria have joined Putin in recognising Donetsk and Luhansk – along with breakaway Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. They all did so also on Monday.

The central question is whether Russia would recognise them in their current borders. Should it decide to help the rebels “restore” their statelets to the original borders, it may spell a large-scale war between Moscow and Kyiv.

At the moment, Russia will recognise “the borders, where the leadership of the DNR and the LNR are executing their authority,” Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko told the Interfax News Agency on Tuesday.

But the foreign ministry also said on Tuesday that the issue of the borders is yet to be resolved.

While Ukraine and the West try to avoid war, other questions loom.

What are the roots of the region’s separatism? What has kept these areas alive since 2014? And what is their future?

Neo-Stalinism

A 13.5 metre-tall statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin still dominates the main square in Donetsk, the capital of the eponymous breakaway region in southeastern Ukraine.

And the constitution adopted by Lenin’s successor, Josef Stalin, has been restored by the Moscow-backed separatist leaders of Donetsk and neighbouring Luhansk after they broke away from the central government in 2014.

This constitution prescribes the death penalty for a number of crimes, making the separatist “People’s Republics” – and authoritarian Belarus nearby – Europe’s only homes to capital punishment.

After almost eight years of existence, the “republics” are understood to have evolved into totalitarian, North Korea-like statelets.

It is near impossible for foreigners to enter the areas. Ukrainians can only visit if they have relatives in Donetsk and Luhansk, and would have to cross into Russia first, which takes about 30 hours and costs $100 – a journey that also involves bribing officials at times. Residents need a Soviet-era residency registration.

In the statelets, secret police and “loyal” residents monitor every word, phone call and text message.

Dissidents or businessmen who refuse to “donate” their assets to the “needs of the People’s Republic” have been thrown in “cellars”, or dozens of makeshift concentration camps, without trial.

“It looks like the 1930s in the Soviet Union, a classic gulag,” Stanislav Aseyev, a publicist who was kidnapped in 2017 in Donetsk and was sentenced by a separatist “court” to 15 years in jail for “espionage”, told Al Jazeera.

For almost two years, he was incarcerated and tortured in these “cellars” until separatists swapped him and dozens of other prisoners in 2017.

Thousands of others were tortured and abused in the “cellars”, according to rights groups and witnesses. The grave human rights abuses make Donetsk and Luhansk far worse than today’s Russia, an international human rights advocate said.

“The cellars where prisoners are held in Donetsk, and the widespread use of torture, are among the most obvious human rights issues,” said Ivar Dale, a senior policy adviser with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, a human rights watchdog group.

But there are much wider problems such as civil and political rights, he said.

“You could say that the political repression in Russia is doubly felt in Donetsk and Luhansk and other areas effectively under control of the Putin regime,” Dale told Al Jazeera.

Rust-belt ruins

These tendencies have gone hand in hand with economic degradation.

The living standards are “many times, if not dozens of times worse than in pre-war 2013”, said Aseyev, 32, who now lives in Kyiv and has published a novel about the events in Donetsk.

This regress looks even more staggering considering Donetsk’s and Luhansk’s not-so-ancient history. The cities were founded by two Brits.

Englishman Charles Gascoigne built a metal factory in what is now Luhansk in 1795, shortly after czarist Russia annexed Crimea and eastern Ukraine from the Crimean Khanate, a mostly-Muslim vassal of Ottoman Turkey.

Decades later, in 1869, Welshman John Hughes started a steel plant and a coal mine in what is now Donetsk, and the city was named after him – Hughesovka or Yuzovka – until the Soviet era.

The birth and rapid growth of both cities followed the czarist government’s drive to develop the immense coal and iron ore deposits of what is now eastern Ukraine.

Communist Moscow further spurred the region’s development, and tens of thousands of ethnic Russians settled there, making urban areas almost exclusively Russian-speaking.

Coal and mines grew deeper next to hillocks made of spent ore, and foundries, chemical and power plants dotted the region.

The political heyday of Donetsk began in 2010, when its native Viktor Yanukovych became Ukraine’s president – and brought cohorts of his cronies to Kyiv.

They tried to wrestle control of Ukraine’s politics and economy – but triggered months-long protests that began in November 2013 and ended in February 2014, when the Ukrainian parliament voted to remove Yanukovych from office.

The protests are known in Ukraine as the Revolution of Dignity – but Russian President Vladimir Putin still calls them a “coup”.

‘Russian spring’

In the czarist era, the region was known as Novorossiya – or New Russia – and the Kremlin would use the name in 2014 as it proclaimed the “Russian Spring” or “liberation” of Russian-speaking regions in eastern and southern Ukraine.

But pro-Russian rallies and uprisings in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and Odesa, its largest seaport on the Black Sea, failed.

However, thousands of Russian volunteers flocked to Donetsk and Luhansk to aid separatist militias – while many locals were ecstatic about the “Russian Spring”.

“Putin will come and restore order here,” one of their supporters, a rotund minibus driver named Valerii, told this reporter in April 2014 in Donetsk.

But four months later, after the separatists tried to confiscate his minibus, he locked his apartment, loaded the bus with his most valuable belongings, and left for Kyiv.

‘Price tag’

Even though Ukraine barred any economic ties to the separatist regions, they still exist – and even involve top politicians.

Pro-Western President Petro Poroshenko, who came to power after the Revolution of Dignity, admitted that he channeled government funds worth tens of millions of dollars in exchange for Donetsk coal in the winter of 2014-2015 because otherwise “half of Ukraine could have frozen”.

But Russia still had to bankroll the separatist provinces spending billions of dollars a year.

So, what are Moscow’s economic goals in Donbas?

“Very simple – to lower the price tag of maintaining the occupied territories,” Aleksey Kusch, a Kyiv-based analyst, told Al Jazeera.

To achieve that, Russia may want to remove the middlemen who pocketed the lion’s share of profits from the export of coal and steel and the delivery of humanitarian aid that was immediately resold on the black market.

“They kept up to 70 percent of the profits,” Kushch said.