Transnistria aka Pridnestrovia
Due to the confusion that arose during the collapse of the Soviet Union, inevitable crises that still exist today were created. Also, there were several areas that were not seen as independent states on a world map, but in practice had separate governance. Today we are talking about one such region, Transnistria.
The region of Transnistria aka Pridnestrovia was part of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic and declared independence in the last days of the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moldavia protested, and a civil war broke out due to this fact. In a few months, the war ended with a temporary agreement. That situation remains the same today. This can be considered a condensed crisis. That is, even if the conflict over Transnistria is not resolved, it does not result in a conflict situation.
Transnistria aka Pridnestrovia is considered part of Moldova by the international community. Therefore, it has not received official recognition. Only a few other similar territories recognize Transnistria as a sovereign state.
Where is this country?
Transnistria is a long, narrow strip of land beyond the Dniester River in Moldavia. Apart from that, Transnistria also has control over several villages located on the other bank of the Dniester river, and Moldavian control has been established in several villages on the other side of the river.
Transnistria aka Pridnestrovia is officially known as the Moldavian Republic of Transnistria by its current regime. A population of about 475,000 lived in the area of 4,163 square kilometres by the year 2015. The capital of Pridnestrovia is Horizopol. The currency of Pridnestrovia is the Pridnostrovian ruble. It also has a president and a parliament. In addition, there are armed forces and a police force in Transnistria. Moreover, they even issue passports.
How did such a country come about?
This part can get a little confusing. The reason for that is that they used a little complicated name for the republics of the Soviet Union. So let’s get into this conversation with a brief description to untangle the tangle.
The Soviet Union, or the United Soviet Socialist Republics, is legally a collection of many different republics. There were 15 such republics in 1991. Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic is one of them.
And there were independent areas within those republics. They were called the Independent Soviet Socialist Republics. The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was formed as an autonomous region within the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic before it became a full republic.
The path to the creation of Transnistria aka Pridnestrovia was paved in the early stages of the establishment of the Soviet Union. At that time, Moldavia was established as an autonomous region of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. This happened in 1924. This area at the time included present-day Transnistria and an area extending beyond it. That is, the area called Bessarabia, which included a large part of present-day Moldavia, belonged to Romania at that time.
One of the goals of the Soviet government in establishing the Moldavian Independent Soviet Socialist Republic was to merge Bessarabia with it at some point in the future.
In 1940, the Soviets took part in Bessarabia from Romania. After that, that part and the then-existing Moldavian Independent Soviet Socialist Republic were merged to form the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. Accordingly, Moldavia became a full-fledged Soviet republic.
As Nazi Germany invaded these areas in 1941, Soviet power was re-established in 1944. After that, the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic remained one republic of the Soviet Union.
Several ethnic groups lived in Soviet Moldavia. Two-thirds of the total population were Moldavians. There are debates about whether they are a separate ethnic group and a sub-ethnic group of Romanians, etc. It is not so important for us here. However, it is important that they are very close to Romanians. In addition to Moldavians, Ukrainians lived about 15 percent and Russians about 10-12 percent (the percentages varied slightly in different periods). But Transnistria, or the strip of land beyond the Dniester River, was almost equally populated by Moldavians, Russians, and Ukrainians. On the side of Bessarabia, the Moldavian language was predominant, while on the other side of the Dnieper river, the Russian language was used more.
In fact, for this situation to become a big crisis, something serious needs to happen. Otherwise, the existing situation did not lead to a major crisis. But by 1991, Moldavia was at a critical juncture. The Soviet Union began to collapse.
Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic
At this time, nationalism began to grow in Moldavia. Thus, until then, the system of using the Cyrillic alphabet had to be stopped and suggestions such as the use of the Latin alphabet like in Romania had to be put into action. Some groups even claimed that Moldova should become part of Romania. These events did not bring happiness to the Russian speakers who lived on the other side of the Dniester River.
It was uncertain what the Moldavian rulers would do in the future. The people of Transnistria did not want to be part of Romania at all. Thus they decided to become independent from Moldavian rule.
On September 2, 1990, a group of representatives from Transnistria aka Pridnestrovia met and proclaimed the Transnistrian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. Accordingly, they claimed that they were also a full republic of the Soviet Union. They did not even want to remain an independent region under Moldavia. However, this declaration of independence did not receive the official approval of the Soviet government at this time.
The Transnistrian War
After the August 1991 coup d’état (against Gorbachev), Moldova declared independence from the Soviet Union. At that time, the Transnistrians were ready to defend their independence. At this time, Moldova did not have its own army. The Soviet 14th Guards Army was in this area and its loyalties were towards the Transnistrians. The Moldavians quickly raised troops and prepared to take over Transdniestria. Here they received the support of Romania.
The armed conflict reached a serious level by March 1992. The clashes continued until July of that year. After that, a ceasefire was reached and a Joint Control Committee was established to maintain peace in the area. All three parties, Russia, Moldavia and Transnistria contribute to it.
The Transnistrian economy
Transnistria aka Pridnestrovia has a mixed economic system. Also, since it was industrialized during the Soviet era, industries such as steel and electricity are still important there. Traditionally, its foreign economic relations were mostly with former Soviet states. However, after Moldova reached a cooperation agreement with the European Union, Pridnestrovian and European economic relations have also developed.
Public facilities in Pridnestrovia are largely undeveloped. Therefore, traces of the former Soviet Union can be seen there even today. Moreover, the hammer and sickle symbol is still present on its flag. But it cannot be considered a communist state. It does not mean that the communist system is still there, but that what was not developed for three decades is still there today. (Manthrana.com)
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