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".

In the beginning, the republic's capital was the city of Kharkiv, but later with the retreat of the Red Guard it moved to Luhansk.

Some of the commissars held positions as secretaries in another Bolshevik government in Ukraine, the People's Secretariat.

The Donetsk–Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic failed to achieve recognition, either internationally or by the Russian SFSR, and in accordance with the March 1918 second Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was abolished.

[8] After a government crisis and resignation of Vasilchenko, Zhakov and Filov on 29 March 1918, the Sovnarkom relocated from Kharkiv to Luhansk.