Maxim Zmeyev / Reuters

DONETSK, Ukraine — More than half a year after armed men seized buildings across Ukraine's two easternmost provinces and declared their intent to join Russia, rebels are facing a task they never planned for — becoming a fully fledged independent state, starting with elections set for Sunday. With Kiev's central government and its Western allies powerless to stop them, the vote appears to underscore that the Donetsk People's Republic is, for now, here to stay. "These elections on Nov. 2 will be the breakthrough moment when our state becomes legitimate," Alexander Zakharchenko, the republic's leader, told a crowded student auditorium in Donetsk, the rebel and provincial capital, on Friday. "The people [in power] now, I'll say honestly, just showed up — they were activists and fervent revolutionaries, but basically, they were self-appointed," Zakharchenko said. "After Nov. 2 the government and the parliament will be responsible for their obligations." Rebel-controlled parts of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces have essentially become a frozen conflict zone since a Russian offensive rolled back government forces and forced Kiev to sign a ceasefire in early September. Ukrainian officials insist suspending hostilities is just a temporary step toward regaining full control of the territory. Moscow, however, has decided to recognize the elections, which it says were provided for in a secret addendum to the ceasefire. Rebels are trying to take advantage of that vacuum to show that they are capable of governing. Though hatred of the pro-Western government in Kiev is widespread, many locals remain skeptical of the republic's leadership, which depended heavily on Russian military support to beat back Kiev's forces and was run by Muscovite transplants until Zakharchenko became leader in August. It's a steep task. With winter fast approaching, rebels are scrambling to provide residents with heat and repair the infrastructure damaged by months of shelling. Losing funds from Kiev has essentially destroyed the region's already stagnant industry- and mining-based economy, which depended on huge subsidies to stay afloat. Many residents line up daily outside government buildings for emergency supplies delivered from Russia by truck. "The Donetsk People's Republic is just three words on paper," Artem Podorozhko, a militiaman running for Zakharchenko's position as a no-hope opposition candidate, told BuzzFeed News. "They've managed to stop it from collapsing and that's it. We're on a brink — either we become a country or we go to jail." Provincial government buildings are now home to rebel "ministries" where newly minted bureaucrats mingle among ubiquitous gun-toting militiamen in camouflage. Police patrol the city in repainted squad cars. Though ATMs ran out of cash as long ago as May, the republic even has its own bank. The sign outside its central office, a former branch of Ukraine's Ukreksimbank, now simply reads "BANK" after the first part was removed.

Max Seddon / BuzzFeed

Despite the republic's unrecognized status, many locals are still taking part in it out of a simple desire to get on with their lives. Local entrepreneurs line up at the tax office to reregister their businesses under the republic's laws. Student athletes competed in the republic's first "international" wrestling tournament on Thursday against representatives from Crimea, the neighboring Luhansk People's Republic, and Cossacks. Building a functioning state is also important for the rebels' image after the republic's turbulent initial months. Impromptu military-style tribunals — one of which saw a man shot under the orders of a rebel nicknamed Baloo for stealing a pair of pants under a Stalin-era wartime decree — are being replaced by a legal system complete with prosecutors, a justice ministry, and a supreme court. "A court should be a court: The case should be examined, a conclusion should be reached, and a sentence should be carried out," Eduard Yakubovsky, the supreme court's chief justice, told BuzzFeed News. "You can't just get together, put your hands up, and shoot someone just like that." Rebel officials are keen to stress a degree of continuity for the region, which was peaceful throughout Ukraine's 23 years of post-Soviet independence until former president Viktor Yanukovych, a Donetsk native, fled the country in February. Rebel lawmakers say they intend to keep the parts of Ukrainian law that do not contradict Russian law. Most of the judges currently undergoing selection worked in Ukrainian courts either as judges or as clerks, Yakubovsky said. Nonetheless, Sunday's vote has captured little of the enthusiasm that greeted a slapdash referendum for the republic's independence in May, inspired by the referendum that preceded Russia's annexation of Crimea. Though some refugees have returned, Donetsk — once home to over a million people — is still half-empty after months of war.

Maxim Zmeyev / Reuters Donetsk People's Republic leader Alexander Zakharchenko.