Transnistria or Transdniester (Russian: Приднестровье (Pridn'estrov'ye), Romanian Transnistria, referred to as Stânga Nistrului (Left Bank of the Nistru) by official Moldovan sources and Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublika by Transnistrian official sources) is a de facto independent, unrecognised state in eastern Europe. The name comes from it being the area of Moldova east of the river Dniester (Nistru). An unrecognised state is a state which is de facto fully independent from the state it is recognised to be a part of, yet, for political reasons, it is not recognised as an independent state or is recognised only by a small number of other states. ... Eastern Europe is, by convention, that part of Europe from the Ural and Caucasus mountains in the East to an arbitrarily chosen boundary in the West. ... The river Dniestr (in Polish and Russian; Nistru in Romanian; Дністер, Dnister in Ukrainian; Tyras in Latin; also known as Dniester) is a river in Eastern Europe. ...

Transnistria/Transdniester

(In Detail) (In Detail)
Administrative map of Moldova with Transnistria highlighted in yellow
Languages	Moldovan/Romanian, Russian and Ukrainian
Political status	Autonomous region
Capital	Tiraspol
President	Igor Smirnov
Independence  – Declared  – Recognition	From Moldova  September 2, 1990  none
Area	3,567 km² (2001 est.)
Population	580,000 (2004 census)
Currency	Transnistrian ruble
Time zone	UTC +2
Internet TLD	none
Calling Code	373 533

Political status

It is considered internationally to be part of Moldova, and previously part of the Moldavian SSR, but has declared independence as the Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic, with a capital at Tiraspol. The region has a Slavic-speaking majority, who fear unification with Romania, but has a large minority of 43% of the population that speaks Romanian. See also: State motto: Пролетарь дин тоате цэриле, униць-вэ! Official language None. ... Tiraspol is the second largest city in Moldova and the capital of the de facto independent, though internationally unrecognized Transnistrian Republic. ... The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia. ...

• Elections in Transnistria
• List of political parties in Transnistria

Politics of Moldova Categories: Election related stubs | Elections in Transnistria ... Politics of Moldova Categories: Politics stubs | Lists of political parties | Transnistrian political parties ...

History

In the early middle ages the region was populated by Slavic tribes of Ulichs and Tivertsy as well as at times by Turkic nomads such as Pechenegs and the Polovtsi , a part of Kievan Rus' at times, and a formal part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 15th century, the area came under the control of the Ottoman Empire in 1504. It was eventually ceded to the Russian Empire in 1792. At that time, the population was sparse and mostly Moldovan/Romanian/Slavic, but having also a nomadic Tatar population. The Ulichs (Uglichs) (Уличи, Угличи in Russian) were a tribe of Early East Slavs between the 8th and the 10th century, which inhabited the territories along the Lower Dnieper, Bug River and the Black Sea. ... Tivertsy, a. ... This is the disambiguation page for the terms Turk, Turkey, Turkic, and Turkish. ... Pechenegs or Patzinaks, also known as Besenyők, were a semi-nomadic steppes people of Central Asia that spoke a Turkic language. ... The Cumans, also known as Polovtsy (Slavic for yellowish) were a nomadic West Turkic tribe living on the north of the Black Sea along the Volga. ... Kievan Rus′ (Ки́евская Ру́сь, Kievskaya Rus in Russian; Київська Русь, Kyivs’ka Rus’ in Ukrainian) was the early, mostly East Slavic¹ state dominated by the city of Kiev (ru: Ки́ев, Kiev; uk: Ки́їв, Kyiv), from about 880 to the middle of the 12th century. ... The presumable banner of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the coat of arms, called Пагоня in Belarusian, Vytis in Lithuanian and Pogoń in Polish Another version of the Lithuanian banner The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė, Belarusian: Вялі́кае Кня́ства Літо́ўскае (ВКЛ), Ukrainian: Велике Князівство Литовське (ВКЛ... The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto El Muzaffer Daima The Ever Victorious (as written in tugra) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital İstanbul (Constantinople/Asitane/Konstantiniyye ) Sovereigns Sultans of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million Area 6. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Tatars or Tartars is a collective name applied to the Turkic-speaking people of Europe and Asia. ...

The end of the 18th century marked the Russian and Ukrainian colonization in region, with the aim of defending what was at the time the Imperial Russian south-western border. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...

After the Soviet Revolution, the region was part of the 'Moldavian Autonomous Oblast' in the Ukrainian SSR. Romanian speakers still made up a significant portion of the inhabitants of the region and Romanian-language schools were opened. Moldavian ASSR (Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Republic; Romanian: Republica Autonomă Socialistă Sovietică Moldovenească) was an autonomous region of the Ukrainian SSR between 12 October 1924 and 2 August 1940, encompassing Transnistria (now in Moldova) and parts which are now in Ukraine. ... State motto: Пролетарі всіх країн, єднайтеся! Official language None. ...

After World War II, it was included with Bessarabia into the Moldavian SSR in exchange for the Southern Bessarabia ("Bugeac"), which was included in the Ukrainian SSR. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Old map of Bessarabia Bessarabia or Bessarabiya (Basarabia in Romanian, Besarabya in Turkish) was the name used by Russia to designate the eastern part of the territory known as Moldova (Moldavia in English), which was occupied by Russia in 1812. ...

In the 40's, Transnistria suffered as many ethnic Romanians/Moldavians were deported to Siberia and Kazakhstan and were replaced by Ukrainians and Russians. Most ethnic Romanians/Moldavians were allowed to return in the 50's, during the process of de-Stalinazation. Siberia Siberia (Russian: Сиби́рь, common English transliterations: Sibir, Sibir; possibly from the Mongolian for the calm land) is a vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan constituting almost all of northern Asia. ... De-Stalinization and the Khrushchev era For further details, see Nikita Khrushchev After Stalin had died in March 1953, he was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and Georgi Malenkov as Premier of the Soviet Union. ...

Most industry that was built in the Moldavian SSR was concentrated in Transnistria, while the rest of Moldova had a predominantly agricultural economy. In 1990, Transnistria accounted for 40% of Moldova's GDP and 90% of its electricity production. 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The 14th Soviet army has been based there since 1956 and was kept there after the fall of the Soviet Union to safeguard what is probably the biggest weapons stockpile and ammunition depot in Europe, which was set up in Soviet times for possible operations on the Southeastern Theater in the event of World War III. Russia is rather half-heartedly negotiating with Transdnistria and Ukraine for transit rights to be able to evacuate the military material back to Russia. 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday. ... World War III is the name given to a hypothetical world war that would be fought between superpowers with weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear weapons. ...

The civil war

In 1989, the Moldovans in the capital of Chişinău, often called Kishinev in English, declared Moldovan – actually Romanian – to be the official language, and talks began regarding reunification with Romania. The Slavs on the left bank of the Dniester) River declared their own Dniester Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic on September 2, 1990 and a civil war broke out in 1992, taking roughly 1,500 lives. The war was ended after a cease-fire was negotiated by the Moldovan, Transnistrian, Russian and Ukrainian representatives. 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chişinău. ... The river Dniestr (in Polish and Russian; Nistru in Romanian; Дністер, Dnister in Ukrainian; Tyras in Latin; also known as Dniester) is a river in Eastern Europe. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years). ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

A part of the cease-fire agreement was a Russian peacekeeping force in the region: a controversial action to some, a necessary guarantee of protection to others. Ever since, the Moldovan government has had no actual authority over the Transnistrian region.

Although an agreement with Moldova was signed in 1994 to withdraw all the Russian troops from Transnistria, it was never ratified by the Russian State Duma. The State Duma (Russian: Государственная дума (Gosudarstvennaya Duma), common abbreviation: Госдума (Gosduma)) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia (parliament), the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. ...

In July 2004, a Transnistrian separatist leader declared that the separatist entity would organize a referendum in the autumn of 2004 on whether Transnistria would become part of the Russian Federation — even though the region has no common border with Russia.

2004 Crisis

The separatist Transnistrian authorities began forcibly closing schools that used Romanian language in Latin script, and several teachers and parents who opposed the closures were arrested. The Moldovan government decided to create a blockade that would isolate the autonomous republic from the rest of the country. Transnistria retaliated by a series of actions meant to destabilize the economic situation in Moldova: since, during the Soviet times, most of the power plants in Moldova were built in Transnistria, this crisis generated power outages in parts of Moldova. Separatism involves setting oneself or others apart. ... Romanian (limba română IPA ) is an Eastern Romance language, spoken natively by about 26 million people, most of them in Romania, Moldova and Vojvodina, the three places where it is an official language. ...

Currently the OSCE, with Russia and Ukraine as mediators are negotiating a settlement. to the conflict. It is likely that the EU and the US will join the settlement talks on Moldovan and Ukrainian requests. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is an international organization for security. ...

Human Rights

The separatist government of Transnistria is authoritarian with a poor human rights record, and is accused of arbitrary arrest and torture. The right of free assembly or association is not respected. Religious freedom is restricted by withholding registration of religious groups, such as Baptists or Methodists. Baptist churches are part of a Christian movement often regarded as an evangelical, protestant denomination. ... The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ...

The 2001 presidential elections were not free. Parties and publications were banned just before the elections. The results were suspect, as in some regions it was reported that Igor Smirnov collected 103.6 percent of the votes. Igor Nikolayevich Smirnov (b. ...

Smirnovist incursions into villages controlled by the Moldovan government such as Vasilevca, often result in arbitrary arrests, beatings and sometimes death.

Population

At the last census of 1989, the population was 546,400.

Recently, there has been a substantial emigration from the region due to economic hardships of the 1990s. This is one of the reasons why a disproportionately large part of the population is past the age of retirement. Events and trends Technology The World Wide Web was born at CERN Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other technology Reduction in size and cost of mobile phones leads to a massive surge in their popularity Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K) Microsoft...

Ethnicity

1989 census

• Moldovans (Romanians): 43%
• Ukrainians: 28%
• Russians: 25%

2004*

• Moldovans (Romanians): 34%
• Ukrainians: 29%
• Russians: 29%

These numbers represent an estimate utilized by various sources. The results from the 2004 Transnistrian census have not yet been released by the PMR officially. The validity of these numbers is disputed, as they cannot be confirmed by an official source.

Economy

The GDP is about $420 million [1] (http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20050128092622.shtml) and the GDP per capita, based on the exchange rate, is $662, making the area slightly poorer than Moldova, and possibly the poorest region in Europe.

Reports of visitors to Transnistria have confirmed that the average salary of a Transnistrian does not exceed $10-$15. In 2004, this was half the average salary in the rest of Moldova, thus making Transnistria the poorest region of the poorest country in Europe. Although the population of the republic was 580,000 in 2004, it is estimated that about 375,000 people actually reside in the region since the rest are usually working in Russia or Ukraine.

The region has a number of factories, albeit very old and outdated. One is a munitions factory in Tighina (Bender) while another important steel factory exists in Râbniţa (Rybnitsa). The factory in Râbniţa brings about 50% of the republic's revenue and is the main provider of jobs in that city. Tighina, or Tigina, is a city in Moldova. ...

Another important factory is the distillery "Kvint" of Tiraspol, famous for its strong spirits, which is also shown on the 5 Transnistrian ruble banknote. Tiraspol is the second largest city in Moldova and the capital of the de facto independent, though internationally unrecognized Transnistrian Republic. ... 1994 Transnistrian ruble banknote The Transnistrian Ruble is the official currency of Transnistria, an unrecognised break-away republic between Moldova and Ukraine in Eastern Europe. ...

An important company in the republic is Sheriff, which is owned by president Smirnov's eldest son. Sheriff controls everything from the newly constructed Tiraspol stadium to a chain of stores in all of Transnistria, thus earning the unrecognized republic's nickname of the "Republic of Sheriff".

Seats of Administrative regions of Transnistria

Russian names, if different from the Romanian names, are listed in parentheses.

• Camenca (Kamenka)
• Dubăsări (Dubossary)
• Grigoriopol (Grigoriopol')
• Râbniţa (Rybnitsa)
• Slobozia (Slobodzeya)
• Tiraspol (Tiraspol')
• Tighina (Bendery)

Camenca (Russian: Kamenka, Ukrainian: Kamianka, Polish Kamionka) is the capital of the Administrative Region of Camenca of Transnistria, which is a poor, unrecognized republic, that has itself declared independent form Moldova. ... Dubăsari is a town in eastern Moldova with a 1989 population of 34,000. ... Grigoriopol is the seat of the Administrative Region of Grigoriopol of Transnistria, a country, that has declared itself independent from Moldova. ... Râbniţa (Russian: Rybnitsa) is the seat of the Administrative Region of Ribnita of Transnistria, a country, that has declared itself independent from Moldova. ... Slobozia (Russian:Slobodzeya) is the seat of the Administrative Region of Slobozia of Transnistria, which is an unrecognized country, that has declared itself independent of Moldova. ... Tiraspol is the second largest city in Moldova and the capital of the de facto independent, though internationally unrecognized Transnistrian Republic. ... Tighina, or Tigina, is a city in Moldova. ...

See also

• Places That Don't Exist - BBC Television series on unrecognised nations

Holidays in the Danger Zone: Places That Dont Exist is a two part BBC Four series on breakaway states and unrecognised nations, devised, written and presented by Simon Reeve. ...

External links

• Eurojournal.org (http://eurojournal.org/)
• Presidential website (http://www.president-pmr.org/)
• Olvia-Press: the information agency of Transnistria (http://www.olvia.idknet.com)

Profiles

• U.S. Department of State: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27854.htm)
• BBC - Regions and territories: Trans-Dniester (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/3641826.stm)
• Transnistria: relic of a bygone era (http://web.archive.org/web/20041011210032/http://www2.gol.com/users/rick/supplement/articpages/eurart1.html) (newspaper article from The Japan Times mirrored at archive.org)

The Japan Times is one of the few independent English newspapers published in Japan: it mainly competes with English editions of the major dailies, such as the Daily Yomiuri and the Mainichi Daily News, as well as the International Herald Tribune. ...

Others

• Inside Bendery (Tighina) - Site Alexa (http://harve.ru.ru/)
• Moldova Azi: News from Moldova (http://www.azi.md/en.html)
• Interlic News Agency (Moldova) (http://www.interlic.md/index.php?lang=eng)
• images of Transnistria (http://www.photo.md/photos/transnistria_1.html)
• Flagspot (http://flagspot.net/flags/md-dnies.html)
• Totul despre Transnistria I (ro) (http://ro.altermedia.info/?p=2111)
• Totul despre Transnistria II (ro) (http://ro.altermedia.info/?p=2129)
• Totul despre Transnistria III (ro) (http://ro.altermedia.info/?p=2149)
• Totul despre Transnistria IV (ro) (http://ro.altermedia.info/?p=2170)
• Totul despre Transnistria (ro) (http://ro.altermedia.info/?p=2189)