The Donetsk–Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic or Donetsk–Kryvyi Rih Soviet Republic (Russian: Донецко-Криворожская советская республика, romanized: Donetsko-Krivorozhskaya sovyetskaya respublika; Ukrainian: Донецько-Криворізька Радянська Республіка, romanized: Donetsko-Kryvorizka Radianska Respublika) was a self-declared Soviet republic of the Ukrainian People's Republic of Soviets proclaimed on 12 February 1918. It was founded three days after the government of the Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) signed its Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Central Powers, which recognised the borders of the UPR. Lenin did not support the creation of the entity and neither did Sverdlov. Some other Bolsheviks like Elena Stasova, however, sent a telegraph of best wishes.
On 3 March 1918 a separate Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria), by which Russia withdrew from World War I. The Article III of the treaty stated that "the territories lying to the west of the line agreed upon by the contracting parties which formerly belonged to Russia, will no longer be subject to Russian sovereignty" and "the future status of these territories will be determined in agreement with their population".
