According to reports on September 16, 2014, the city, which had been occupied by Luhansk People's Republic-affiliated Don Cossacks, seceded from the LPR on 14 September. It was said Don Cossacks there proclaimed the Republic of Stakhanov, and that a "Cossack government" now ruled in Stakhanov. However the following day this was claimed to be a fabrication, and an unnamed Don Cossack leader stated the September 14 meeting had, in fact, resulted in 12,000 Cossacks volunteering to join the LPR forces.