Gourt Home::Gourt :: Transnistria
| Flag | Coat of Arms |
Igor Smirnov
Independence
Recognition From Moldova
September 2, 1990
none
• Water (%)
1,607 sq mi
2.35%
TR)
• Summer (DST)
EEST (UTC+3)
Transnistria, officially Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica, PMR (short form: Pridnestrovie) is a region of the Republic of Moldova in Eastern Europe. The unrecognised state has been de facto independent from Moldova since September 2, 1990, when it made a declaration of independence and, aided by contingents of Russian, Cossack and Ukrainian volunteers, and the 14th Russian (formerly Soviet) Army, successfully defeated Moldovan forces, in the War of Transnistria. While a ceasefire has held since 1992, the Council of Europe recognises Transnistria as a "frozen conflict" region. The sovereignty of Transnistria is an issue of contention. Transnistria continues to claim independence and maintains sovereignty over its territory with the assistance of Russian forces.
Names
Although the region is most commonly known in English as Transnistria, its official name is Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica (Moldovan: Република Молдовеняскэ Нистрянэ, , ) as per the Constitution of Transnistria. This is abbreviated PMR.
The official short form of the name is Pridnestrovie (transliteration of the Russian "Приднестровье")."Pridnestrovie" vs "Transnistria"
Several other names are also in common use, all meaning "beyond the (river) Dniester".
Political status
Transnistria is internationally considered to be part of the Republic of Moldova, and previously part of the Moldavian SSR, but has declared independence as the Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica or Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), with Tiraspol as its capital.
The Russian authorities contributed both militarily and politically to the creation of a separatist government in Transnistria. The PMR remained under the effective authority, or at the very least under the decisive influence, of Russia, and in any event it survived by virtue of the military, economic, financial and political support that Russia gave it. Despite the Istanbul Agreement of 1999, Russia has not yet fully withdrawn its troops from Transnistria, although the Russian contingent has been reduced to approximately 1,500 troops, with 360 of them being part of the peacekeeping efforts of the Joint Control Commission created jointly with Moldovan participation.
A referendum is planned for 17 September 2006 asking voters: 1. Do you support the course towards the independence of the PMR and the subsequent free association with the Russian Federation? 2. Do you consider it possible to renounce the PMR's independent status and subsequently become part of the Republic of Moldova?
Internal politics
Formally, Transnistria has a multi-party system and an unicameral parliament, called the Transnistrian Supreme Soviet. The president is elected by popular vote. The latest parliamentary elections were held in December 2005; however, they were not monitored by international organizations such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and were not recognized by other countries. The candidates were insistently asked not to argue, to be united and not give to the Republic of Moldova any reason to criticise them.
There is disagreement as to whether elections in Transnistria are free and fair. The majority of Western organizations, especially the OSCE, have declared that no democratic elections can take place in the region under the present circumstances and have refused to even monitor them. Critics of the past elections claim that some parties and publications were banned just before the elections of 2001, and that the results of that elections were suspicious, as in some regions it was reported that Kamchatka-raised former metalworker Igor Smirnov collected 103.6% of the votes. Nevertheless, some international observers and organizations, such as CIS-EMO, have participated and have called them democratic. A 2005 report from the European Union's Institute for Security Studies sees democratic advances and states that Transnistrian politics is moving towards more pluralism.*
See also:
History
The first settlement, Tyras, was an ancient Greek colony of Miletus, probably founded about 600 BC, situated on the mouth of the Dniester river (Tyras) near today's Tiraspol. In the early Middle Ages, Transnistria was populated by Slavic tribes and Turkic nomads. It was part of Kievan Rus' at times, and a formal part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 15th century. It 1792 it became part of the Russian Empire
Transnistria first became autonomous in 1924 with the proclamation of the Moldavian ASSR which included today's Transnistria as well as parts of Ukraine, but none of Bessarabia.
The Moldavian SSR, which was organised by a decision of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on 2 August 1940, was formed from a part of Bessarabia taken from Romania on 28 June, following the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and a part of the Moldavian ASSR which is roughly equivalent to present-day Transnistria.
In 1941, after Axis forces invaded Bessarabia in the course of the Second World War, they advanced over the Dniester river. By March 1943, a total of 185,000 Ukrainian and Romanian Jews had been deported and murdered under Romanian and German occupation of Transnistria. The Soviet Union regained the area in 1944.
Mikhail Gorbachev's policy of perestroika in the Soviet Union allowed the political liberalisation at the regional level in 1980s. On 2 September 1990, the Moldovan Republic of Transnistria was unilaterally proclaimed as a Soviet republic by the "Second Congress of the Peoples' Representatives of Transnistria".
The War of Transnistria involved armed clashes on a limited scale that broke out between the Transnistrian separatists and the Moldovan police as early as November 1990 at Dubasari. On 2 March 1992, Moldovan President Mircea Snegur authorized military action against Transnistria. Fighting intensified throughout 1992 until a ceasefire was signed on 21 July 1992 which has held ever since.
The OSCE is trying to facilitate a negotiated settlement. Under OSCE auspices, on 8 May 1997, the Moldovan President Petru Lucinschi and the separatist leader Igor Smirnov, signed the "Memorandum on the principles of normalizations of the relations between the Republic of Moldova and Transnistria" also known as "Primakov Memorandum", sustaining the establishment of legal and state relations although the memorandum's provisions had diverging legal and political interpretations in Chişinău and Tiraspol.
In May 2005, the Ukrainian government of Viktor Yushchenko proposed a seven-point plan by which the separation of Transnistria and Moldova would be settled through a negotiated settlement and free elections.
Violation of human rights
The Republic of Moldova, as well as other foreign states and non-governmental organizations claim that the separatist government of Transnistria is authoritarian and has a poor human rights record, accusing it of interference with religious freedom and of arbitrary arrest and torture. In the best-known such case, Ilie Ilaşcu, a politician in favour of Moldovan union with Romania, was sentenced to death but released in 2001 amid international pressure.
It is also alleged that the trafficking of women is a serious problem, although Transnistria denies this, pointing to a lack of solid evidence.
Transnistrian local authorities put obstructions to public mother tongue education for ethnic Moldovans in the Latin script, insisting that any public educational institutions teaching the language use the official Cyrillic alphabet.
See also:
International relations
Ukraine-Transnistria border customs dispute
On March 3, 2006, Ukraine imposed new customs regulations on its border with Transnistria: Ukraine declared it will only import goods from Transnistria with documents processed by Moldovan customs offices, as part of the implementation of the joint customs protocol between Ukraine and Moldova on December 30, 2005. Transnistria and Russia termed the act "economic blockade". Moldova denies this being described as blockade, claiming it created favorable conditions for registration of Transnistria-based businesses: to obtain a 6-month export license is a half-hour simplified procedure.
Of major mediators of the conflict in the region, the United States, the European Union and OSCE approved the Ukrainian move, while Russia sees it as a means of political pressure and claims that "Russia's interests are directly affected" as well.
On March 4, Tiraspol retaliated by blocking the Moldovan and Ukrainian transport at the borders of Transnistria. The block was lifted on March 18.
Population
At the census of 1989, the population was 546,400. At the time of the 2004 census, the population was 555,347.
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.
Ethnicity
Throughout most of its modern history, Transnistria was home to three major groups, roughly equal in numbers: Russians and Ukrainians as well as a Moldovan plurality. In the latter half of the 20th century, the ethnic proportions have changed in large measure due to industrialization and the immigration of Russian and Ukrainian workers, encouraged by the Soviets. The trend continued after 1991, too, as the Moldovan population decreased between 1989 and 2004 from 41% to 32% of the total population. However, the Moldovans(Romanians) are still the largest single group of the region.1989 census
- Total population on the left bank of the Dniester river (minus Tighina): 546,400
- Total population in raions mostly on the left bank of the Dniester river (minus Tighina): 601,660*
- (note that percentages below are given from the second figure)
- Moldovans: 39.9%
- Ukrainians: 28.3%
- Russians: 25.5%
- Others: 6.4%
2004 census
- Total population (including Tighina): 555,347 (percentages below refer to this first figure)
- Total population (minus Tighina): 450,337
- Moldovans: 31.9%
- Russians: 30.4%
- Ukrainians: 28.8%
- Bulgarians: 2%
- Gagauz: 2%
- Poles: 2%
Economy
After WWII, Transnistria was heavily industrialized, to the point that in 1990, it was responsible for 40% of Moldova's GDP and 90% of its electricity, despite the fact that it accounted for only 17% of Moldova's population.
The GDP (2005) is about $420 million* 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.
The region has a number of factories, although some only possess older technology. One is a munitions factory in Tighina (Bender) while another important steel factory exists in Rîbniţa (Rybnitsa). The factory in Rîbniţa is bringing about 50% of the republic's revenue and is the main provider of jobs in that city.
Another important factory is the distillery "Kvint" of Tiraspol, famous for its strong spirits, which is also shown on the 5 Transnistrian ruble banknote.
An important company in the republic is Sheriff, owned by president Smirnov's eldest son. Sheriff owns a chain of supermarkets, a chain of petrol stations, a TV channel, the FC Sheriff Tiraspol football team and its newly constructed stadium.
Crime
According to the government of Moldova, the EU, and various NGO's, Transistria has been a haven for the smuggling of various products to the Republic and Moldova, or to eastern states through the Ukrainian border. The administration of the PMR has denied any such allegations and has instead given proof of involvement by Moldovan police in drug smuggling. In May 2006 a Moldovan police officer was arrested in Transnistria for his role in a drug operation.*" target="_blank" >The government of Ukraine, which had long been seen as assisting in this illegal trade, has recently taken steps to prevent smuggling along its border by opening new customs posts and by stipulating that the goods passing from Transnistria through Ukraine must first obtain clearance from Moldovan authorities.[http://politicom.moldova.org/stiri/eng/10352/
Various analysts have also identified the dangers presented by the region due to its large deposits of weapons and the potential of their sale across the black market. Recently, a cache of surface-to-air missile launchers as well as other weapons disappeared from a former Soviet stockpile and officials are unable to account for their whereabouts.*
Administrative regions
Russian names are listed in parentheses.
- Camenca (Каменка), also Kamenka
- Dubăsari (Дубоссары), also Dubossary
- Grigoriopol (Григориополь)
- Rîbniţa (Рыбница), also Rybnitsa
- Slobozia (Слободзея)
- Tiraspol (Тирасполь)
- Tighina (Бендеры), also Bender or Bendery
Notes
References
- U.S. Department of State: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
- (mirrored at archive.org)
- see Chapter 4
- Foreign Broadcast Information Service - Soviet Union, Oct. 24, 2000.
External links
- Profile of Trans-Dniester from the BBC
- OSCE Mission to Moldova
- Research on the European Union and the conflict in Transnistria
Transnistrian side
Moldovan side
- Moldova Azi: News from Moldova
- Moldova.org non-governmental country portal
Unrecognized or largely-unrecognized states | Moldova | Transnistria
Transnistria | Приднестровие | Transnístria | Transnistrien | Transnistria | Transnistria | République de Transnistrie moldave | 트란스니스트리아 | Transnistria | Transnistria | טרנסניסטריה | დნესტრისპირეთი | Padniestrė | Transznisztria | Transnistrië | 沿ドニエストル共和国 | Transnistria | Naddniestrze | Transnístria | Transnistria | Приднестровье | Transnistria | Podnestersko | Транснистрија | Transnistria | Transnistrien | Придністровська Молдавська Республіка | 德涅斯特河沿岸共和国
"Transnistria"