De facto states, Eurasia, patron states, parent states, sustainability

This chapter explores the factors that have enabled four de facto states in the post-Soviet space to sustain their existence for more than a quarter of a century. Unlike the popular discourse which often considers de facto states as mere puppets of their powerful patrons, the author claims that the security guarantees provided by an external patron are just a part of the complex phenomenon of de facto states' sustainability. Whereas the military, economic, or political support from a patron state is crucial for de facto state to prevent its reintegration into the parent state, the internal viability of de facto state is crucial for surviving as a distinct polity, and not being absorbed by its powerful patron.