Transnistrian Moldavian Republic: map, government, president, currency and history. Transnistrian Moldavian Republic Transnistria Wiki

Story:

On August 2, 1940, at the VII session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Law on the formation of the union Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted.

After the creation of the MSSR, numerous immigrants from Russia and Ukraine went to the territory of the modern Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, helping to create local industry. Most of the industrial enterprises of the Moldavian SSR (now the Republic of Moldova) were initially concentrated in the territory of Transnistria, since the economy of the rest of Moldova (Bessarabia) during its stay as part of Romania (1918-1940) was mainly agricultural in nature and was the most backward of all provinces Romania, and industrial enterprises were mainly engaged in processing agricultural products (the share of food industry products in 1937 was 92.4%).

The new geopolitical situation did not last long - already in 1941, Germany and its allies attacked the USSR, and Romania had the opportunity to regain the territories annexed a year ago by the Soviet Union. In addition to Bessarabia and northern Bukovina, which became part of Great Romania, the entire region between the Southern Bug and Dniester rivers (including the cities of Balta, Odessa and the right bank part of Nikolaev), which was called Transnistria (“Transnistria”), came under the control of the Romanian administration.

In 1944, with the entry of the Red Army into the Balkans, the borders returned to the situation that existed at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.

In 1956, the 14th Army was stationed in the Moldavian SSR (including on the territory of Transnistria). She remained here after the collapse of the USSR, guarding weapons and ammunition depots - reserves created in case of hostilities in the South-Eastern theater of military operations in Europe. In 1984, the army headquarters was transferred from Chisinau to Tiraspol.

In 1990, before the collapse of the USSR, industrial facilities on the territory of the modern Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic provided 40% of Moldova's GDP and produced 90% of electricity, since in the village. The Moldavian State District Power Plant was built in Dnestrovsk, which was supposed to produce electricity for export to the CMEA countries.

The Transnistrian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed as a Soviet republic within the USSR at the Second Extraordinary Congress of Deputies of all levels of Transnistria, held in Tiraspol on September 2, 1990.

On December 22, 1990, USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev signed a decree “On measures to normalize the situation in the SSR Moldova”, in the 4th paragraph of which it was decided “to consider as having no legal force... the decisions of the Second Congress of Deputies of Soviets of various levels from some settlements of Transnistria dated September 2 1990 on the proclamation ... of the Moldavian Transnistrian Soviet Socialist Republic."

On August 27, 1991, the Parliament of the SSR of Moldova adopted Law No. 691 “On the Declaration of Independence,” which declared the law of August 2, 1940 “On the Formation of the Union Moldavian SSR” null and void, according to which the MASSR became part of the Moldavian SSR, emphasizing that “without asking the population of Bessarabia, the north of Bukovina and the Hertsa region, forcibly captured on June 28, 1940, as well as the population of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Transnistria), formed on October 12, 1924, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, in violation of its constitutional powers, adopted a law on August 2, 1940 “On the formation of the Union Moldavian SSR.” Often, supporters of the sovereignty of the PMR argue that by their decision, the deputies of Moldova outlawed the only legal document regulating the presence of Pridnestrovie within Moldova. However, since UN member states recognize the independence of Moldova precisely in the context of the collapse of the USSR, and not in accordance with the 1991 law, thus considering it a successor state of the Moldavian SSR, the PMR’s arguments are not considered within the UN. Despite this, the law of August 27, 1991 was not repealed in Moldova itself and continues to be in force.

On November 5, 1991, due to the collapse of the USSR, the PMSSR was renamed the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. In the Moldavian version, the name sounds like “Dniester Moldavian Republic”, which can be assessed as claims to both banks of the Dniester, that is, to the whole of Moldova.

Over the past years, Moldovan and Transnistrian authorities have made several attempts to improve relations. The parties were almost able to reach an agreement in 2003 on the basis of a settlement plan proposed by Dmitry Kozak, who at that time held the post of deputy head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation. According to this plan, Moldova was to become an “asymmetric federation”, and the PMR and Gagauzia would receive special status and the ability to block bills undesirable for the autonomies. Moldova pledged to maintain neutrality and demobilize the army, as well as provide Russia with the right to station Russian troops on the territory of Transnistria for a period of 20 years as “guarantors” of the conflict resolution. Literally at the last moment, under pressure from the OSCE and student protests, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin refused to sign the agreement, saying that it gives unilateral benefits to the PMR and has a hidden goal - recognition of the independence of Transnistria. Negotiations resumed only in 2005 within the framework of the regional organization GUUAM on the basis of proposals presented by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. According to the new plan, by August 2005 the Parliament of Moldova was supposed to pass a law on the special status of Transnistria, according to which the region should have a flag, coat of arms and three state languages ​​- Russian, Ukrainian and Moldavian. If Moldova ceases to be an independent state, Transnistria will be able to secede from it. In December 2005, the PMR, under the control of international observers, was supposed to hold early parliamentary elections, and Moldova pledged to recognize their results. Then Moldova and the PMR, with the participation of Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE, had to differentiate powers between the parties within the framework of the law on the status of Transnistria. Moldova then had to sign an international treaty obliging it to implement the law on Transnistria. The guarantors were to be Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE and, possibly, the EU and the USA.

The “Yushchenko Plan” allowed for direct communication between representatives of the international community and the PMR without the participation of Moldova. The document did not contain demands for the withdrawal of the Russian military contingent from the territory of the PMR, which Moldova insists on.

On July 22, 2005, the Parliament of Moldova approved the bill “on the status of Transnistria.” According to this document, Russian peacekeepers must leave the region by December 31, 2006, and the territory of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic is part of Moldova with autonomy rights. The status of Transnistria is defined as “an administrative-territorial entity in the form of a republic within the Republic of Moldova.” The region should enter the single economic, customs and currency space of Moldova, but will receive its own constitution and government formed by the Supreme Council of Transnistria - a legislative body that will be elected by popular vote. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov noted that “it seems that Moldova has set a course for the economic strangulation of Transnistria”

In May 2006, consultations were held between the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the presidents of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and Abkhazia.

In June 2006, PMR President Igor Smirnov said that the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic is ready to take Moldova’s place in the CIS if it leaves the Commonwealth.

In June 2006, the heads of the PMR, Abkhazia and South Ossetia at a summit in Sukhumi, in addition to the Commonwealth of Unrecognized States (CIS-2), concluded a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance and signed a Declaration on the Establishment of a Community for Democracy and the Rights of Peoples, which involves not only economic and political cooperation between the republics, but also the creation of collective peacekeeping armed forces that can replace Russian peacekeepers and jointly repel possible forceful actions of “small metropolises” and attempts to resolve the situation by military means.

In June 2006, the Russian President and Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the fate of unrecognized states should be determined by the will of their population based on the right to self-determination.

On September 17, 2006, a referendum was held on the territory of the PMR, which asked two questions: “Do you think it is possible to maintain the course towards international recognition of Transnistria and joining Russia?” and “Do you think it is possible for Transnistria to become part of Moldova?” Moldova, the OSCE, the European Union and a number of other international organizations declared the referendum illegal and undemocratic.

97% of Transnistrian citizens who took part in the referendum spoke for the independence of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR) and its subsequent free accession to the Russian Federation (RF). 2.3% of voters voted against integration with the Russian Federation.

3.4% of citizens of Transnistria spoke in favor of abandoning the course of independence of the PMR and the subsequent entry of the republic into Moldova, and 94.6% of referendum participants spoke against such integration. 2% of voters could not make a choice.

According to official data from the Central Election Commission of Transnistria, 78.6% of citizens who had the right to vote, or about 306 thousand out of 389 thousand people, took part in the referendum on September 17, 2006.

Recognizing countries:

Flag:

Map:

Territory:

Demography:

The population is 513,400 people (as of 01/01/2012). In 1990, the population of Transnistria was 730,000 inhabitants. Thus, the natural increase was about −1.58% per year. Until 1992, there was a constant trend towards population growth, but from this year a constant decline in the number of residents began. The working-age population is predominantly male.

According to the 2004 PMR census, Moldovans make up 31.9% of the republic’s inhabitants. 30.3% of the population are Russians, 28.8% are Ukrainians, Bulgarians (2%), Belarusians and others also live. In general, residents of 35 nationalities live on the territory of Transnistria, including Armenians, Jews, Gagauz, Tatars, etc.

Religion:

The bulk of the population professes Orthodoxy.

Among the Protestant Christians there are those officially registered in the PMR: Pentecostals, Baptists, Salvation Army, Seventh-day Adventists, Charismatics.

Jehovah's Witnesses actively preach.

There are a few religious communities of Jews, Old Believers, Armenian Gregorians, Roman Catholics, Greek Catholics (Uniates), Buddhists, and Muslims.

Languages:

Russian, Ukrainian, Moldavian (based on Cyrillic graphics)

Armed forces:

The armed forces of the PMR include ground forces, air forces, internal and border troops, as well as Cossack formations. The regular units consist of about seven thousand people. There are a thousand people in the voluntary Cossack detachments. The reservists or people's militia number about 80 thousand people. The army consists of four motorized rifles, one artillery brigade, one anti-aircraft artillery brigade, an aviation detachment, special units and one Cossack regiment. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has a separate special-purpose brigade “Dniester”, and the Ministry of State Security has a special battalion “Delta”. The armament consists mainly of outdated equipment - more than a hundred BTR-60 and BTR-70, more than a hundred different artillery systems and mortars, including Grad multiple rocket launchers.

After the collapse of a huge country that occupied a sixth of the landmass, many independent states were formed, which immediately faced many difficulties. And some the world even refuses to recognize. This is Transnistria. It is inhabited by brave people who not only challenged the entire “civilized” humanity, but also withstood the pressure in return. However, the history of this not universally recognized state is very interesting. Its appearance on the world map is due not only to the will of the population, but also to previous events. It so happened that this territory became part of the Russian Empire from the eighteenth century. But let's delve a little deeper into the past.

How the territory was formed

The history of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic is not particularly different from that of the neighboring lands. In ancient times, these places were sparsely populated. Mostly Slavic and Turkic tribes lived here. At one time, the territory was part of Kievan Rus, then it was included in the Galician-Volyn principality. In the 14th century, the land passed to Since there were few inhabitants, the transition from one jurisdiction to another did not particularly affect the people. Only in the eighteenth century, after these places became part of the Russian Empire, changes began to occur. Taking care of border protection, the state encouraged migration of citizens to these places. The population has become multinational. Among its inhabitants there were Bulgarians and Russians, Germans and Greeks, and, of course, Moldovans. After the revolution, the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed in this territory. It was part of the Ukrainian SSR. And only in 1939, when Romania was forced to return part of the previously occupied territories to the union, the Moldavian SSR was formed, which included these lands. To understand the reasons why the population living in this territory did not want to remain part of the new Moldova, it is important to know its history.

Formation of the industrial complex

After the formation of the MSSR, the authorities began to send specialists from the union republics here. The current territory was mainly rebuilt by Ukrainians and Russians. For political reasons, it was here that the main industrial enterprises were created. By the time of its formation in its current form, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic provided 40% of total GDP and generated 90% of electricity. In addition, the 14th Allied Army was based here, and, naturally, the corresponding infrastructure was created. It turns out that the current Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic has concentrated on its territory almost the entire industrial potential of the country formed after the collapse of the USSR.

Official, but the formation of a new state

The incident happened when our previously huge country fell apart into fifteen parts. That is, this division was recognized by the UN, but not by the residents. Since Moldova was historically formed from two very different territories, its population was divided into “camps”. The center considered the territory integral. Only in Transnistria they had a different opinion. The MSSR Parliament adopted the “Declaration of Independence,” which repealed the law on the formation of a republic within the Union. But this same act seemed to free the territory of Transnistria from state ties with the new country, since it was included in the MSSR by a decision canceled by its parliament. In Tiraspol, they were not at a loss and proclaimed the PMR (the full name is the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic) on November 5, 1991, which in their understanding was historically quite logical.

Administrative - territorial division

The Republic of PMR is unitary and consists of seven administrative units. They include five districts and two cities subordinate to the republic. These are Bendery and Tiraspol. The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (photo above) has its own state symbols. The flag is a red banner with a green stripe in the middle. In the corner there is a crossed hammer and sickle. This territory contains eight cities and towns, one hundred and forty-three villages and four railway stations. Some settlements are under the administration of Moldova. In 2011, the population exceeded five hundred thousand people of thirty-five nationalities. The majority of the people (40%) consider themselves Moldovans, Ukrainians - 26%, Russians - 24%. The PMR government uses three state languages ​​that are understandable to representatives of the main nationalities. The main religion is Christianity, although other groups of believers are also active.

Geographical position

The Transnistrian Moldavian Republic (a map of it is in the article) is a fairly narrow strip of land sandwiched between Moldova and Ukraine. It has no access to the sea. The area of ​​this country is 4163 square kilometers. For reference: this is a tenth of the former MSSR.

The President of the PMR works in the capital of the country. All government structures are located there. The terrain here is flat, with occasional gullies. The land is represented mainly by black soil. The climate here is temperate continental, there is not enough precipitation, but this does not harm agriculture, since a large river flows through the territory - the Dniester. In addition, the republic also has mineral resources. The PMR develops glass sands, gravel and construction limestone deposits. There is ceramic clay here. In the forests located on the slopes of the Dniester, there are wild boar, roe deer, partridge, hare, otter, fox, and ermine. The rivers supply fish, and there are sturgeon in the reservoirs.

Conflict with Moldova

The self-proclaimed state was not recognized by the main part of the former MSSR, which, according to the UN definition, was its legal successor. They tried to resolve the conflict for quite a long time. The leadership of Moldova created a peace plan, according to which the PMR was supposed to form an “asymmetric federation” with it. In fact, the document rejected the independence of the territory, which was supposed to officially become part of Moldova, albeit with broad powers. Tiraspol rejected the proposal, since it was based on the principle of demilitarization, which was completely unacceptable to the population. There was a threat of a serious armed conflict.

Currently, security here is maintained by peacekeepers represented by Russian, Moldovan and local militaries. Despite constant negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE, it is not possible to reduce the tension of the conflict. The last surge was in the spring of 2014, when the local population turned to the President of Russia with a request to resolve the issue of the PMR’s accession to the Russian Federation. This event occurred after the Crimean spring. Inspired people believed that they too would have a chance to connect with their historical homeland. Back in 2006, ninety-seven percent of citizens spoke out not just for independence from Moldova, but also for further joining the Russian Federation. Seventy-eight percent of voters voted. But the “civilized community” recognized this referendum as undemocratic.

President of the PMR

The republic has its own Constitution, which determines the order and form of its existence. According to the basic law, the President of the PMR is elected by direct voting. Elections are held every five years. There are certain restrictions that apply to candidates. Only a citizen of the republic who has reached thirty-five years of age, more than ten of which lives in this country, can apply for this position. The current president of the PMR is Evgeniy Vasilyevich Shevchuk. He has a predecessor who served in this position for twenty years. This one suffered many difficulties until life in the country improved. The last presidential elections took place in 2011.

Economy

Despite the fact that large industrial enterprises are located in the republic, they do not provide any income. Among the problems mentioned first of all is the status of the state. It is not recognized, which hinders the establishment of economic ties and participation in large projects. The enterprises' products are sold in Ukraine and Russia. The latter provides the PMR with constant support. Thus, many sources point to the continuously growing debt of the unrecognized state for gas (400 percent of GDP). The currency of the PMR is the Transnistrian ruble. It began to be produced in 2005. There are banknotes in circulation in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200 and 500 rubles. There are also the Moldavian Republic, namely: 5, 10, 25 and 50 kopecks. The banking system, as in other countries, is two-tier. The first is a national institution, the second is commercial. The currency of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic is quoted only on its territory. This is all due to the same unrecognized status of the state.

Tourist potential

The republic is trying to attract investors. A special program has been developed for this. This policy is facilitated by the convenient location and developed transport structure of the state. In addition, there are a number of settlements with a rich history. The main one is Kamenka, where many architectural monuments are located. Among them: churches, wine terraces and cellars. Residents are happy to show tourists the estate of Field Marshal P.H. Wittgenstein, part of which is preserved on the territory of the city. In the PMR (photo) there is a nature reserve - “Yagorlyk”. Currently, the possibilities of developing green tourism in the republic are being considered, for which there is sufficient potential. Visitors are recommended to be sure to see the Church of St. Paraskeva of Serbia, which is located in the village of Valya-Adynke, and the museum complex “Bendery Fortress”. Residents are rightfully proud of the Kolkotovaya Balka paleontological complex, which is a natural monument of world significance.

Social sphere

The PMR government pays close attention to issues of education and health care. Nine years of training is compulsory. In total, one hundred and eighty-four schools (six are private) operate in the republic. Moreover, in thirty-three, teaching is conducted in the Moldovan language, in three - in Ukrainian, in the rest - in Russian. There are three state universities in the PMR, in addition, there are branches of Russian and Ukrainian higher educational institutions. For example, eleven thousand students study at the university (main university). Young people can receive higher education in Russia, where their certificates are recognized. Healthcare operates on the basis of government funding. According to statistics, there are one hundred and twenty health workers and one hundred beds for every ten thousand population. There are service centers for certain categories of citizens, including women in labor, women with children, and disabled people from the Second World War.

Trade

The state exports its own products and raw materials. The latter includes cement, gravel, sand. Products of ferrous metallurgy, mechanical engineering, electricity and textiles are also exported. Most of the goods are consumed by the Russian Federation and Ukraine. But there are also partners from foreign countries. These are Syria and Türkiye, Serbia and Romania, about a hundred countries in total. The PMR imports natural gas, raw materials for metallurgy, and oil processing products. The republic does not produce enough components for mechanical engineering; they also have to be imported.

In addition, some food products are imported from abroad (mainly meat products). The main suppliers include enterprises of the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan, Moldova and Germany, Ukraine and Italy. The government is concerned that imports significantly exceed exports from the country. This is especially true for food. A program is being developed to develop our own capacities; natural conditions are favorable for this.

Military doctrine

The PMR has its own created solely to protect its territory from external aggression. The military doctrine of the republic is presented as purely defensive. Unfortunately, the army is going to repel the aggression of its closest neighbor - Moldova. The troops include ground, border, internal and air forces. In addition, volunteer Cossack formations were created. The President of the PMR commands the armed forces. The Republic declared itself a neutral state. It is not included in any blocks and does not plan to enter. The army is recruited on the basis of universal conscription, and the Cossack formations are recruited on a voluntary basis. In order to de-escalate tensions in the region, the PMR has repeatedly approached Moldova with a proposal to demarcate borders and begin disarmament. No understanding was reached on this issue. The Operational Group of Russian Forces is located on the territory of the republic. Its main goal is to protect old arsenals that still belonged to the Soviet Army.

Transnistria, full official name Transnistrian Moldavian Republic(PMR) is located in southeastern Europe. Geographically, the republic is represented by the left bank of the Dniester River and the city of Bendery and parts of the Slobodzeya district, located on the right bank of the river. It borders on the west with Moldova, on the east with Ukraine (Odessa and Vinnitsa regions). The total length of the border is 816 km, including with Moldova - 411 km, with Ukraine - 405 km.

Territory of the PMR- 4163 sq. km. The length from northwest to southeast is 202 km, from west to east – 40 km.

H population density of the republic as of July 1, 2011 amounted to 516 thousand people. At the same time, 356 thousand people live in urban settlements, and 160 thousand people live in rural areas.

National composition

The majority of the population of Transnistria, according to the 2004 census, are Russians (31%), Moldovans (32%) and Ukrainians (29%). In general, residents of 35 nationalities live on the territory of Transnistria: Bulgarians, Belarusians, Gagauz, Jews, Germans and others.

official languages- Russian, Moldavian, Ukrainian.

Currency unit— Transnistrian ruble

Religion
The bulk of the population professes Orthodoxy; there are religious communities of Old Believers, Catholics, and Jews.

Administrative-territorial structure

The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic is a unitary state. The territory of Transnistria is divided into 7 administrative units: 5 districts - Grigoriopol, Dubossary, Kamensky, Rybnitsky and Slobodzeya, as well as 2 cities of republican subordination - Bendery and Tiraspol.

Capital- the city of Tiraspol. It is located 100 km from Odessa and 70 km from Chisinau.

In total, there are 8 cities in Transnistria (Bendery, Grigoriopol, Dnestrovsk, Dubossary, Kamenka, Rybnitsa, Slobodzeya, Tiraspol), 8 urban-type settlements (Glinoe, Karmanovo, Kolosovo, Krasnoye, Mayak, Novotiraspolsky, Pervomaisk, Solnechny), 143 villages.

Education PMR

The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic is an independent sovereign state formed on the basis of the free expression of the will of the people during referendums and citizens’ assemblies. Proclaimed on September 2, 1990 at the Second Congress of People's Deputies of all levels. This day is a public holiday - Republic Day.

The form of government is a presidential republic

The republic has all the attributes of sovereign statehood: a President elected by direct secret ballot for a period of 5 years, a representative body (the Supreme Council), its own judicial, law enforcement and defense systems, state symbols - flag, coat of arms, anthem.

Referendum on independence of Transnistria

On September 17, 2006, a referendum was held on the territory of the PMR, which asked two questions: “Do you think it is possible to maintain the course towards international recognition of Transnistria and joining Russia?” and “Do you think it is possible for Transnistria to become part of Moldova?” Moldova, the OSCE, the European Union and a number of other international organizations declared the referendum illegal and undemocratic in advance. 97% of Transnistrian citizens who took part in the referendum spoke for the independence of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR) and its subsequent free accession to the Russian Federation (RF). 2.3% of voters voted against integration with the Russian Federation. 3.4% of citizens of Transnistria spoke in favor of abandoning the course of independence of the PMR and the subsequent entry of the republic into Moldova, and 94.6% of referendum participants spoke against such integration. 2% of voters could not make a choice. According to official data from the Central Election Commission of Transnistria, 78.6% of citizens who had the right to vote, or about 306 thousand out of 389 thousand people, took part in the referendum on September 17, 2006.

Economy

A significant part of the industry of the former MSSR is concentrated on the territory of Transnistria. In 1990, before the collapse of the USSR, Transnistria provided 40% of Moldova's GDP and produced 90% of electricity.

The PMR is an industrial-agrarian state. The leading place in the economy is occupied by ferrous metallurgy, light industry, mechanical engineering, furniture and woodworking industries. The wide range of products of the republic's enterprises is characterized by high quality and is well known in many countries of Europe, America, the Middle and Far East, and the CIS countries.

The main problems of the region's economy today are its unrecognized status, mass migration, aging population, negative foreign trade balance, and high inflation.

One of the phenomena of the modern world is “unrecognized states”. They have their own names, capitals and constitutions; its economy, its documents, its currency; their ideology, and often their nation... but their passports are not valid anywhere outside their territory, which is usually very modest; their currency will not be accepted by any bank on Earth except their own; you won’t see foreign embassies in their capitals; they are not even marked on maps. Sometimes they are recognized - by several countries (like Abkhazia), half the world (like Palestine) or the whole world (like South Sudan). The former USSR, as the last collapsed empire, is especially rich in such “splinters” - Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and in the past also Gagauzia (1990-1994) and Ichkeria (1990-2000).

They all started with wars. And without visiting Transnistria, you can’t help but imagine it as, if not a “hot spot,” then a “besieged fortress.” It was all the more surprising to discover, on this narrow strip between the Dniester and Ukraine, a poor, but quite living state. Most of all, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic resembles some kind of Russian national autonomy such as Udmurtia or Khakassia. But the PMR is not at all similar to Moldova
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I will also talk about Bendery, Tiraspol, Rybnitsa and the rural outback, which I visited with wwvvwwvv And bes_arab , but first - general impressions: people, signs, features and the central square of the capital.

As a disclaimer. One must write about places involved in conflicts either 100% positively or 100% negatively - after all, the slightest sympathy for “that” side by “that” side is unforgivable. If I see even 1% of good in the PMR, I am a bloody imperialist who dreams of seeing Russian tanks in Chisinau, Tbilisi and Riga; if I see even 1% of bad things in the PMR, I have sold out to the West, I’m fawning over Saakashvili and I’m writing an order for the VashObkom. What if not 1%, but approximately 50%, like in any country? In general, I am mentally preparing to find myself under cross-throwing, and I warn you, as always - for rudeness and personalization, as well as insulting any country - a ban. And also - keep in mind that I was a guest here and not for long, so much of what you may consider malicious “propaganda” from either side may in fact be just my accidental mistake.

2. In the center of Bendery.

Transnistria is very small even compared to Moldova: area - 4.16 thousand square kilometers (this is 4 times larger than Moscow within the Moscow Ring Road), population - 518 thousand people, which is less than Chisinau alone, and in principle for this In two indicators, the PMR roughly corresponds to Luxembourg, the largest of the microstates in Europe. The main cities are Tiraspol (148 thousand inhabitants) and Bendery (98 thousand), as well as, from south to north, the regional centers of Slobodzeya (20 thousand, the only one south of Tiraspol), Grigoriopol (9.5 thousand), Dubossary (25 thousand), Rybnitsa (50 thousand), (9.2 thousand). There are approximately equal numbers of Moldovans (32%), Russians (30%) and Ukrainians (29%) living here, and since the PMR’s passports are not recognized in the world just like it itself, almost everyone has dual citizenship, mostly some kind from these three countries.

3. In the center of Rybnitsa.

The prehistory of Transnistria is somewhat more complicated, and fully explains its isolation from Moldova. It became part of Russia 20 years earlier - in 1792, the southern part - after the next Russian-Turkish war, and the northern part - under the II section of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Accordingly, historically, the southern half of Transnistria belonged to New Russia (Kherson province, Tiraspol district), the northern half belonged to Podolia (Podolsk province, Baltic and Olgopol districts), while the Bessarabian province included only Bendery. At the same time, in Romanian historiography there is a point of view that already in those days Slavicized Moldovans lived beyond the Dniester, therefore the left bank of the Dniester with Odessa is, as it were, originally Romanesque territory. It is interesting that if in Romania and in the West this territory is called Transnistria (“Transnistria”), in the local Moldavian it is called Nistrenia (Dniester region).

4. At the market in Tiraspol.

Be that as it may, the first prototype of the PMR was the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1924-40), which did not include Bendery, but included the north of the current Odessa region - its first centers were Balta (1924-28), Birzula (1928-29, now Kotovsk) and finally Tiraspol. There were several such “seemingly hinting” regions in the USSR in the 1930s: the Karelo-Finnish SSR, the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic... but only in Moldova did things go beyond hints, and perhaps if it weren’t for the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, we would now have at most Tiraspol region of Ukraine, or even just areas of Odessa and Vinnytsia regions. But about the events of 1989-1992 - later... The Romanians created their prototype of the PMR during the Second World War: Transnistria with its capital in Odessa, even during the era of occupation, did not belong to Bessarabia and consisted of 13 of its own counties.

The first thing that looks different here after Moldova is the people. Completely different faces and mood: no trace remains of the Moldovan relaxed sloppiness. The faces of people here are firm, concentrated, I would even say gloomy. Expressing not even the dramatic resentment characteristic of the Slavs towards everyone and everything from the president to the ex-husband, but a stoic readiness for impending disaster.

However, I would not say that people here are angry and unfriendly. In my impressions, there is more everyday rudeness in Moldova. I spoke to passers-by here a little, but where I spoke, they usually listened attentively and explained in detail. It’s just that people here seem to be in tense anticipation - well, something like when you’ve been sitting in line for more than an hour and don’t know whether they’ll give you a vital document or not. Pridnestrovians have been living in this queue for 20 years.

But they still live, not survive. More precisely, they “survive” in the same sense of the word that they mean in our outback - the republic, to put it mildly, is not rich. According to statistics, the GDP per capita in Moldova and the PMR is approximately the same, but I asked about the real situation on both sides of the Dniester. As I understand it, Chisinau is significantly richer than Transnistria, Pridnestrovians even go there to work, but the outback in Moldova is poorer than the outback of the PMR. At the same time, the presence of a “steady hand” and humanitarian aid from Russia is reflected - for example, pensions in Transnistria are about one and a half times higher than in Moldova, but still miserable even by the standards of the Russian Federation ($80 and $120, respectively). But to be honest, I cannot confirm the widespread assertion that in Transnistria the roads are significantly better than in Moldova - in my opinion it’s about the same.

At the same time, the people here, it seemed to me, are less patriarchal and more urban compared to the Moldovans. An indicator is that in Moldova I almost never saw informals, but in the PMR there are classic nefers in leather jackets, and shuttlers, and hipsters, and girls with blue hair. Girls in Transnistria are beautiful (multinationality affects them), well-groomed, and often very stylishly dressed.

9. Rybnitsa schoolchildren at a cleanup event.

Here are schoolchildren in Bendery collecting donations to help orphans. The promotion is quite funny - you donate money to them, they give you a “palm” made of colored paper with one adhesive side, and you stick it on the sheet as a sign of involvement. On the day of my arrival, two such groups were walking around Bendery, and you had to see with what seriousness and concern they approached the matter.

In general, I liked and remembered the Pridnestrovian youth. Many high school students here have unexpectedly bright faces, almost like in Soviet cinema. At the same time, gopniks and other aggressive bipedal fauna have a larger population here than in Moldova, but this is already a problem for the entire East Slavic world.

Schoolchildren on an excursion to the Bendery Fortress:

Accordion player in Tiraspol. Let the southern appearance of many Transnistrians not be surprising: the largest minority of Transnistria is the Bulgarians (2% of the population), living mainly in Parkany - the largest village in the PMR (10.5 thousand inhabitants), through which Bendery and Tiraspol merged (even the route of the intercity trolleybus No. 19 runs mainly along Parcani). Bulgarians have citizenship of Bulgaria, that is, the European Union, and generally keep to themselves. It seemed to me that other Pridnestrovians envy them.

Another interesting point: before the trip, I was sure that in Moldova it is rare to see a policeman, but in the PMR there is a cop on every corner. In the end, it turned out to be the opposite: in Moldovan cities there are a lot of cops even after Russia and Kazakhstan (and in addition there are very strict laws), but in the PMR I only saw policemen briefly a couple of times, and three times a car drove by with the sign “Police”. I don’t even remember traffic cops on the roads. And in principle, I didn’t even really see what uniform the PMR policemen had. But there are really a lot of people in the Unrecognized Country - the military, especially in Bendery:

In general, before the trip, I imagined Transnistria as a light dictatorship, like Belarus or Kazakhstan, with a lifelong Leader of the Nation and an opposition within the limits of statistical error. However, Igor Smirnov, who ruled the country for 20 years and once led the struggle for independence, recently lost the elections democratically: Yevgeny Shevchuk won, gaining 38% and 75% of the votes, respectively, in two rounds, and this happened without the post-election squabbles and Maidan protesters traditional for the post-Soviet space . Smirnov was described to me something like this: “He did a lot for the country, you don’t have to agree with those who criticize him... but in the last 8-10 years he became bronzed and started stealing” - now that’s it above typical for the former USSR.

The second aspect that you immediately notice here after Moldova is... but you didn’t guess right. This is the industry:

This division into agrarian-nationalist and industrial-pro-Soviet parts exists in many post-Soviet countries. The most famous example is Ukraine; Kazakhstan is a little less noticeable in this sense. But in its purest form this division was precisely in the Moldavian SSR. Firstly, the presence of a clear border - the Dniester; secondly, if in Eastern Ukraine there are black soils and agro-industrial complex, and in Western Ukraine there are still several large factories, and Southern Kazakhstan is not inferior to Northern Kazakhstan in industrialization, in Moldova west of the Dniester there is almost no large heavy industry, and to the east there is simply not enough space for agriculture . The industrial center of the PMR is Rybnitsa, where its own metallurgical plant is located; There are powerful factories in Tiraspol (say, Elektromash, whose director was Smirnov), and in Bendery, as well as a state district power station in Dnestrovsk and a hydroelectric power station in Dubossary.... Although only 12% of the area and population of the Moldavian SSR remained behind the PMR, here half of its industry is concentrated, including 2/3 of the electric power industry. In addition, unlike Moldova, the PMR receives gas from Russia at preferential prices (and often on credit, and Moldova again pays off the debts), and for a long time the independence of Transnistria was guaranteed not only by the Russian army, but also by the opportunity to block the pipe to the Moldovans.
Well, in general, where there is industry, there is nostalgia for the Union, sympathy for Russia as its successor, faith in a “steady hand” and fair distribution of wealth, and where there is peasantry, there is nationalism and small business, incompatible with the Soviet past. It seems to me that in Ukraine, too, the contradictions are not so much civilizational or religious as class ones - the gap between the peasantry and the proletariat.

And only in third place in the order of differences is language. Transnistria is also unique in that essentially the Moldovan language (and not a dilaect of Romanian) has been preserved only here. Firstly, it is still in Cyrillic here (and don’t forget that the Wallachians also used the Cyrillic alphabet until the 1860s), and secondly, if in Moldova many Moldavian words were recognized as vernacular and were replaced in the literary language by Romanian ones, in Even this did not happen in Transnistria. However, frankly speaking, Moldavian is not in use here. I heard the statement that not a single book in Moldavian has yet been published in the PMR - I cannot judge how true this is.

At the same time, three languages ​​are considered de jure official - Moldavian, Russian and Ukrainian:

In fact, things are approximately the same as in the already mentioned national autonomies of the Russian Federation such as Mordovia or Karelia - the environment here is 90% Russian-speaking, Ukrainian and Moldavian are present mainly in official signs and in the rural outback (explanation for you-know-who - in the Russian Federation there is a difference between republic and republic, and for example in Tatarstan and Bashkiria the situation with languages ​​is completely different).

Another myth about Transnistria is that it is supposedly a “living museum of the USSR.” Well, there really are a couple of “exhibits”:

But in general, no particular socialism, especially in landscapes, was noticed in the PMR. Belarus is much more suitable for the role of the “living USSR”. Let's say there is no less outdoor advertising here than in Moldova, Ukraine or Russia.

The cult of Victory is clearly expressed even in Right Bank Ukraine, even in Volyn (which is already Western Ukraine), so there is no way to resemble “Soviet specifics”:

And there are monuments to victims of repression:

In general, soviet-style is nothing more than a ruse for European backpackers. Perhaps the only attribute is a large number of posters and slogans on the theme of love for the Motherland, and the flag of the Moldavian SSR minus the hammer and sickle:

Something else is much more real - there really was a war here:

23. House of Soviets in Bendery.

Moreover, only the decisive battle took place for Bendery in June 1992, and skirmishes, provocations and shootouts had happened here before, mainly in the Dubossary area. You can read more about the history of the conflict on Wikipedia. I asked people on both sides of the Dniester about what happened here in those years. Here are some rough quotes:
- Moldova, a person of pro-Russian-anti-Romanian views: The Pridnestrovians simply saw what was going on here, the antics of all these nationalists, the course towards unification with Romania, the destruction of factories that were advanced for the Union, such as the Chisinau Computer Plant. And although among those who fought there there were a lot of scumbags, all sorts of ragamuffins who were simply given the opportunity to shoot and handed a machine gun upon presentation of their passport, we respect the Pridnestrovians for defending their independence with arms in hand. And in general, many here share the ideas of Transnistria, but damn it - this is a bandit state! Pirate Republic! It used to get to the point that at the Bendery customs there was one regime, at Dubossary another, at Rybnitsa a third - whatever the local brothers wanted. It's a shame - they discredit ideas that could become popular in Moldova.
- Moldova, a person of more neutral views. What happened in Transnistria is in fact nothing more than a “revolt of the Red Directors”. There are huge factories there, and that’s a lot of money, and the directors understood that the new government would overthrow them(...and destroy factories - my note), and therefore skillfully played the anti-Romanian card, becoming state power from directors.
- Transnistria, patriot. For us, for the first 15 years there was no such question at all - “what happened there.” We all knew what we were fighting for, and only in the last 5 years have some alternative versions begun to appear. This is all nonsense. And it’s also nonsense that it was a national conflict - Moldovans fought on this side, including Russians on that side ( which is confirmed by the lists of the dead - my note ) .
In general, Moldovan residents unanimously agree that Transnistria exists in the interests of local oligarchs, and on both sides of the border they say “our friends live there” (we are talking about ordinary people).

24. Rybnitsa and Rezina, between them the Dniester.

In general, although it all started with a war, now the relations between one and a half states are surprising. Firstly, by the fact that in principle there are relations between them (unlike, for example, Georgia-Abkhazia). If in Azerbaijan they can imprison a foreigner caught visiting Nagorno-Karabakh, Moldovans in Transnistria regularly ride themselves. Pridnestrovians go to Chisinau (which is almost a metropolis for them) to work and go out - it is much more accessible to them than Odessa. In principle, Moldova, in relation to the PMR, has taken the position “no matter what the child amuses himself with...”, “if you want to consider yourself independent, consider it.” I have already written about a one-way border - on the PMR side there is full-fledged border control, on the Moldova side, at most, a reinforced police station. It is not a problem to enter or leave Moldova illegally through the PMR, and in general this border creates more inconvenience for Moldovans than for Pridnestrovians. There are, however, a number of nuances: first, if you entered Moldova through the PMR, you must voluntarily go to the authorities and register (lately, they say, there is an exception for passengers of the Moscow-Chisinau train going through Bendery - Moldovan border guards meet them on the train), if you came to Moldova and want to leave through the PMR to Ukraine, it is better to have both a foreign passport and an internal passport of the Russian Federation or Ukraine with you: Transnistria does not put any stamps, and you end up with Ukrainian border guards with an open Moldavian border, which is fraught with extortion of a bribe. And the option of two passports is bad because if you decide to come to Moldova again, there will be problems at the entry due to the “hanging stamp”. For this reason, I returned from Transnistria to Chisinau and traveled by train through the north.
But with currencies, the separation is complete: in Moldova - lei, in Transnistria - their own special rubles - “suvoriki” with Suvorov and inscriptions in three languages ​​(and the Ukrainian ones had errors in a couple of editions). Changing lei in the PMR is not a problem, but it makes no sense to travel to Moldova with the Transnistrian ruble.

25. On the Moldovan coast. View from Transnistria.

Although from time to time all sorts of provocations occur between the two banks of the Dniester - either they jam each other’s cellular communications, or they try to establish a transport blockade, or vice versa - in 1999-2000, while the Chisinau airport was under reconstruction, its flights were received and sent by Tiraspol. In general, the posts of Russian peacekeepers are still standing:

And the Pridnestrovians do not regret separating from Moldova. On both sides of the Dniester they regret those killed in that war, the culprit of which is called Mircea Snegur, “an absolutely irresponsible ruler.” I was surprised that General Lebed had a positive attitude even in Moldova - “this man stopped the bloodshed.” Yes, he stopped it, threatening to fire a volley from Grads at Chisinau, essentially taking the PMR from Moldova by force, but here everything is somewhat more complicated: Transnistria, although small, it so happened that most of the Soviet military equipment was on its territory: so, Even now Moldova does not have a single tank, nor did they have them then. If the war had flared up, it could have dragged on for years and claimed tens of thousands of lives, as in Chechnya or Tajikistan. And gratitude to Lebed for the defeat inflicted in this vein is quite humanistic. The Japanese, however, are also grateful to the United States for Hiroshima, but Lebed never fired, but only threatened.

But I somehow cannot confirm the assertion that Pridnestrovians live only in fear and hatred of Romania, which they have made a national bogeyman here. In my opinion, Romanianization is much more feared in Moldova itself, but Pridnestrovians do not really remember Romania in everyday life; it does not play any role in their lives. Although, of course, it is surprising to what extent in the 1990s people were afraid of this prospect - Transnistria, the Gagauz, and most of the Moldovans themselves.

Now, especially in the news, the role of foreign policy should not be overestimated. Both in Moldova and in the PMR, such problems as: there is no work, pensions are below the subsistence level, bureaucrats are stealing, the housing is too heavy, prices are rising, trains are being cancelled, etc.

Although the political life of the unrecognized state has a number of its own curiosities. Since many Pridnestrovians are citizens of Russia, that is, voters, familiar logos and names are present here:

Ukraine, apparently out of solidarity with Moldova, is not so impudent (or maybe its parties are simply not allowed here), although I do not exclude that you can contact the “Party of Regions” or “Batkovshchina” here:

Although what blew my mind most of all was this: the embassy of Abkhazia and South Ossetia! They even have a “second CIS” - the Commonwealth of Unrecognized States. And judging by other people’s photographs, Transnistria is most of all a state among them.

There is even a holding company here - “Sheriff”, which all travelers mention without saying in the context of “Sheriff’s security chases photographers.” In the republic he owns most of the supermarkets, gas stations, oil depots and car services, his own TV channel, all cellular communications and the Internet in Transnistria, as well as a giant sports complex on the outskirts of Tiraspol and, since 2006, the Quint cognac factory, and 12 thousand people work in all of this - 2.5% of the total population of the country. I have never been inside these supermarkets, but in general they say that in Moldova the shops and catering are much better, if only due to greater competition.

At the same time, Sheriff's subsidiary IDC, a monopolist on cellular communications in Transnistria, does not use the GSM format. What does it mean? Well, for example, my mobile phone with a Moldovan SIM card did not receive reception in Tiraspol. The only thing that saves the situation a little is that Transnistria is very narrow, and in most of it the phone picks up signals from Moldova and Ukraine.

Well, at the end of the post - about the main square of Tiraspol. The main street or square of the capital is almost always the façade of the state, and in Tiraspol it is very revealing. The huge square (approximately 700x400 meters, including public gardens!) faces directly onto the banks of the Dniester, and bears the name of Suvorov:

Alexander Suvorov founded Tiraspol as the Middle Fortress of the Dniester Line; Suvorov took Izmail, after which Transnistria became part of Russia. And a truly spectacular equestrian monument to him was erected back in 1979 and immediately became a symbol of Tiraspol. In general, Suvorov here plays almost the same role as Stephen the Great in Moldova - of course, there are not monuments to him in every city, and Suvorov Street is not always central, but he is here on all banknotes. Yes, and objectively - who else?

Nearby is the Palace of Children and Youth Creativity (the edge is visible) and a characteristic poster. One of the things that I remember about Tiraspol is ornamental cabbage. I, of course, have seen it before, but never before in such quantities. The cabbage beds are very colorful, but they smell like ordinary cabbage from the kitchen, and that’s why I also remember Tiraspol for its cabbage smell.

Here is the building of the Government and the Supreme Council (in appearance, from the 1980s), in front of which Lenin is more alive than anyone else (however, after Russia, Belarus and Eastern Ukraine, this should not surprise anyone):

On the contrary, closer to the banks of the Dniester, there is a military memorial:

At the wall - Defender of Transnistria and an Afghan who looks like an American action hero:

On the “Transnistrian” monument there are the names of 489 people who died in battles on this side (Moldova lost about the same number), behind the door is a museum, where I no longer went, since I was in the museum in Bendery. Among the names, I especially note these:

Next is the Great Patriotic War memorial: they fought for the Dniester, of course, not in the same way as for the Dnieper, but very cruelly, and on the bridgeheads of the right bank there are now their own huge memorials (I never saw any of them) - for example,

(PMR) an unrecognized state in southeastern Europe. It borders on the west with Moldova, on the east with Ukraine. It has no access to the sea. According to the Constitution of Moldova, it is part of the territory of the Republic of Moldova. The area of ​​the country is 4.2 thousand km2. Capital Tiraspol.

The population is 550 thousand people. (2007). In 1990, the population of Transnistria was 730 thousand inhabitants. Almost 30.0% of the population are Ukrainians, 28.0% Russians, about 30.0% Moldovans, Bulgarians, Belarusians and others also live, representatives of 35 nationalities, including Jews, Gagauz, Tatars, etc.

Reasons for the conflict in Transnistria:
1) Transnistria was an industrialized part of the agrarian Republic of Moldova. The overwhelming majority of large industrial enterprises in Transnistria were subordinate to the union and were focused on all-union needs. The industry of Transnistria was more connected with the industrial centers of Ukraine and Russia than with Moldova itself. In addition, quite developed modern high-tech industries were located in Transnistria.

This industrial structure of Transnistria required highly educated executive and managerial personnel. Therefore, the directors' corps of industrial enterprises, as well as the party nomenklatura of the region, were staffed mainly not from Moldovans, but from the circle of the all-Union nomenklatura, residents of large cities in Russia and Ukraine. For this reason, the Transnistrian nomenklatura had fairly close ties with Moscow and considered itself part of the all-Union nomenklatura, representing to a certain extent, both in Transnistria and in Moldova as a whole, the interests of the Union Center. She maintained purely nominal relations with the republican party nomenklatura of Moldova;

2) the nomenklatura of Transnistria was devoted to communist ideology, the integrity of the Soviet state and the socialist administrative economy. At this time, the process of ethnopoliticization of Moldovan society and the ruling party nomenclature occurred very quickly. Moreover, this process took place not under the slogans of the rise of the Moldovan, national, but under the sign of the Romanianization of Moldovan society.

In the spring of 1990, as a result of democratic elections, representatives of the Popular Front, which united both national democrats and ultra-nationalists, came to power. The government of the Republic of Moldova was headed by M. Druc, who sympathized with nationalist sentiments. Thus, the Transnistrian nomenklatura has lost any prospect of being represented both in republican structures and in Moldovan society as a whole.

On August 2, 1990, based on the results of a national referendum, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic was proclaimed. Transnistria abandons the Moldavian tricolor and uses the USSR flag as its official flag. It was subsequently changed;

4) linguistic factor in the conflict: on August 31, 1989, Moldova adopted a law stating that the official language is the language of the titular nation, establishing the Moldovan language as the state language, identical to Romanian, with Latin spelling. The predominant Russian-speaking part of the population of Transnistria was excluded from both the cultural and information environment of the Republic of Moldova;

5) historical background: historically, Transnistria began to be part of the Republic of Moldova only in 1940. From 1924 to 1940, it existed as a state entity in the form of the Moldavian Autonomous Socialist Republic within Ukraine. From 1792 to 1917, Transnistria was part of the Russian Empire. Bessarabia was incorporated into the empire in 1812.
The history of Transnistria's statehood shows that it has the same historical rights to return to Russia or Ukraine as the inclusion of that part of Moldova, which was called Bessarabia, into Romania. Of course, Moldova’s move towards rapprochement with Romania could not but cause polarization of the positions of the population of Transnistria;

6) political prerequisites: an important political prerequisite that provided Transnistria with the opportunity to determine its new state status, and, therefore, made its participation in the conflict expedient, was the problem of union autonomy. Being part of the renewed Union made it possible for the Transnistrian nomenklatura to receive the same state status as the republican nomenklatura of Moldova. The Martovsky (1991) draft of the new Union Treaty provided for an increase in the subjects of the Union, which could already be not only the Union republics, but also the autonomies within them. In this way, the Union Center tried to keep the union republics within the USSR. The adoption of such a Treaty automatically meant the secession of Transnistria from Moldova.

Features of the emergence of the conflict in Transnistria: despite the fact that Transnistria makes up about 12.2% of the territory of Moldova, historically it considered itself an equal subject in relation to the other part of the republic; the direction of the actions of the political forces that took part in the conflict was not related to the assertion of the sovereignty of Moldova, but, on the contrary, was subordinated to integration into foreign state entities and orientation to external factors, both on the part of Chisinau, which sought to unify with Romania, and on the part of Transnistria , seeking to Russia.

In order to stop hostilities, on July 21, 1992, a meeting was held in Moscow between the President of the Republic of Moldova M. Snegur and the President of the Russian Federation B. Yeltsin, at which an Agreement on the principles of conflict resolution in the Transnistrian region was signed. From that moment on, the conflict between Chisinau and Transnistria entered the stage of de-escalation. The Moscow (1992) agreement became the basis for the further development of the conflict resolution process. The main political and legal principles that are set out in it:
- respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova;
- strict observance of human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to national minorities;
- determination by political methods, including parliamentary means, of the special status of the Left Bank of the Transnistrian region within the Republic of Moldova;
- granting the population of the Left Bank the right to determine their own future in the event of a change in the state status of Moldova;
- exclusion of any actions on anyone’s part that could impede the resolution of the conflict by peaceful political means.

However, the implementation of these principles in practice turned out to be very difficult, since there are a number of unresolved key problems:

1) the problem of determining a mutually acceptable political status of Transnistria. A mutually agreed upon idea of ​​the political status of Transnistria is expressed in the concept of a “common state”. The main problem with this is the different interpretation of this concept by the Moldovan and Transnistrian sides. Chisinau stated that this state is the Republic of Moldova (RM), which is ready to grant special status to the Transnistrian region. In 2005, the Parliament of Moldova adopted a law on the special legal status of Transnistria, which established territorial autonomy for the Transnistrian region within Moldova. The authorities and people of Transnistria abandoned autonomy in favor of independence. In September 2006, a referendum was held in the PMR. 97% of the citizens of Transnistria who took part in the referendum spoke in favor of the independence of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and its subsequent free accession to the Russian Federation. In total, 78.9% of the republic's population took part in the voting. The results of this referendum were not accepted by either Moldova or the international community represented by the UN.

The Pridnestrovian side sees a common state as a union of two sovereign, independent states, two equal subjects of international law - the Republic of Moldova and the Moldavian Transnistrian Republic. She advocates confederal relations with Moldova. But this option may be acceptable in the case when both subjects of the confederation have already become independent states;

2) problems of an economic nature: despite the fact that the parties agreed to have a common economy, the common economic space of Moldova and Transnistria can only be discussed in the foreign economic aspect. Pridnestrovian products are sold on the world market as products of the Republic of Moldova, using Moldovan quotas and Moldovan customs legislation. But in the internal economic aspect, Pridnestrovie has an independent economy.

The main problem is that after the events of 90, due to objective and subjective reasons, there were different priorities in the social development of both Transnistria and the Republic of Moldova. Moldova has proclaimed the guiding principles of democracy and the free market; in Transnistria, all state property is under the personal control of the leader of the republic and his narrow circle. The Transnistrian nomenklatura adheres to command-administrative methods of economic management. At the same time, Moldova managed to owe Transnistria $31 million for electricity and is in no hurry to pay it back;

3) the problem of the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria and the reduction of the Russian military presence in the region. The Russian 14th Army took part in the Transnistrian conflict on the side of the Transnistrian people, then after the establishment of peace, with its help, a regular army of Transnistria with a strength of 5 thousand people was created, as well as a Russian peacekeeping battalion, which still operates in the security zone. Moldova sees the presence of the 14th Army on its territory as a threat to its national security. Tiraspol considers the 14th Army to be the guarantor of its security and peace. In addition, Transnistria is putting forward its claims to part of the property of the 14th Army.

Although the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic remains an unrecognized state, as a state the republic has proven its viability. The political power in Transnistria is legitimate, because it was elected by the population of the republic as a result of elections.