East Ukraine separatists hold vote to gain legitimacy, promise normalcy

Alexander Zakharchenko (C), separatist leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, visits the Kholodnaya Balka mine in Makiivka, outside Donetsk, October 29, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev

DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) - On a campaign trip, the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic lit candles at a Russian Orthodox Church and kissed icons of Jesus and the Virgin Mary before dashing off to meet about 100 voters in a local factory.

There, the barrel-chested 38-year-old former mine electrician Alexander Zakharchenko assured voters that he wanted pensions to be "higher than in Poland". The elderly should have enough money to "travel to Australia at least once a year to shoot a dozen kangaroos on Safari", he said.