Post 42. Transnistria
Pridnestrovie / Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR) - a.k.a. Transnistria.
Introduction and Background
Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR) and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a landlocked breakaway state, internationally recognised as part of Moldova.
Its capital and largest city is Tiraspol with a population of 120,000. Pridnestrovie / Transnistria is 400km long but only an average of 25km wide. On a map it looks like a smaller version of Chile. It has a population of half a million. It stretches all along the Eastern bank of the Dniester River to the Ukraine border. Transnistria literally means “beyond the Dniester” river.
The locals however don’t recognise the name Transnistria and instead call it Pridnestrovie in Russian, meaning near the Dniester river, because the territory includes land on the western side of the river as well.
This pro-Russian state has been described by some as “the strangest place on Earth” as this “country” doesn’t officially exist! It is not recognised as a country by any other country, yet it boasts its own passport, flag, currency, parliament, president, police force and army.
Its flag contains the hammer and sickle of the USSR, the only flag in the world to still display it. The official language is Russian.
This self-proclaimed independent republic is a place full of contradictions. So for example, the PMR has security protection and financial support from Russia, the Russian flag is proudly flown on the parliament building, next to the Pridniestrovian one (both have equal legal status), yet Russia accepts that it is legally part of Moldova.
Moldova (including Pridnestrovie) was one of the Soviet Socialist Republics. When Moldova decided to become an independent republic in 1990, the people in Pridnestrovie wished to be separate. This resulted in a war of independence which lasted from 1990 to 1992, when a ceasefire agreement was signed on the 21st of July. This agreement has held steady for 33 years.
Compared with Moldova, which is largely agricultural, Pridnestrovie is quite industrial. The main industries are steel, textile and electricity production - they even sell their excess electricity to Moldova! Every year Russia provides €500m in gas to Pridnestrovie. This gas is used to produce the electricity that is sold to Moldova, which is largely dependent on Pridnestrovie for power.
The Irish government has a travel advisory of “do not visit” for Transnistria. On checking my travel insurance, I found it did not offer any cover whatsoever in the territory, so I travelled only on a day trip, and with just a phone, charger, wallet and passport.
The Journey
I took a Marshrutka (small minibus) from Chișinău to Tiraspol (MDL 60 | €3.50 for 70km). I was told to look out for a sign which read “Тираспол-Кищинев“ but helpfully it was written in Latin script.
The experience was nothing short of surreal! There were about 8 or 9 standing passengers for the whole two-hour trip. Luckily I wasn't one of them as there was limited headspace!
The driver was possibly in his late 70s, he constantly talked on his phone to the passengers around him and counted money while driving dangerously at speed. I looked behind me for the seatbelt, but there wasn’t one! I lost count of the number of times he overtook traffic on a blind bend. White lines on the road were just invisible to him. Suffice to say I was now regretting my choice of the front seat!
At the border, they don’t stamp your passport, instead give you a “migration form” with the latest exit time. You have to keep this with your passport. This is your visitor permit, it only lasts a maximum of 12 hours, unless you have evidence of an overnight stay booked. The process took about 15 mins to check everyone on the marshrutka. It was obvious that an Irish passport was a bit of a novelty to the border guards, as several of them scrutinised it in detail. One of them then said to me in a loud and slow voice - DO - YOU - SPEAK - ENGLISH?
Tiraspol
As English is rarely spoken in the PMR, and I don't speak any Russian, I opted to do a 6 hour tour with local tour guide Anton Dendemarchenko https://www.instagram.com/anton.dendemarchenko/ in order to get the most out of my limited time there. This was my most expensive buy for the entire trip as it cost €100, but it ended up being well worth the money.
There were only two of us on the tour, the other was an Italian policeman. Anton brought us everywhere in his car for over 6 hours. He was an absolutely brilliant guide, both informative and entertaining. Not only did he show us the sights but he helped us get inside the mind of what it is like to live and work in Pridnestrovie, through a series of questions designed to make us think.
There was a very Soviet, communist feel to the city, statues of Lenin were common, and all street signs show their original Soviet name. I did feel that the references to Lenin and all the Soviet symbols everywhere were more about nostalgia than politics. There were a handful of Ladas to be seen, but mosly the cars didn't look any different to those in Moldova.
Anton had a series of Soviet army hats with him which we wore, posing for the camera in front of several sites.
The region is not a throwback to the Communist era however, but very much a capitalist place. As an example of this, there are Sheriff supermarkets everywhere. Sheriff is the local monopoly, created by oligarch Viktor Gushan.
The company owns supermarkets, mobile phone networks, filling stations, a tv station, banks, and even a football club - Sheriff Tiraspol (who famously beat Real Madrid 2- 1 in Madrid in the Champions League in 2023.
In fact, the Sheriff is responsible for 60% of the economy. Here I am in the FC Tiraspol fanshop where I bought my son a new season football shirt.
Practicalities
Credit cards, foreign SIM cards (even Moldovan ones) and eSIMs don’t work here. You can get a local SIM if staying longer than a day, but public Wifi is provided all over the city centre area and in restaurants, so a SIM card is not really needed for a day trip.
International bank cards DO NOT WORK in the PMR (forget about Visa, Mastercard and the likes). They have their own version. Better bring some Euro notes or Moldovan Lei with you. You need to exchange your money for Transnistrian rubles on arrival – the rate is close to the Moldovan Leu. It worked out at about 70 Pridnestrovian Roubles to the Euro.
They have their own passport, here is Anton's, but it is only recognised by two other Russian breakaway regions, South Ossetia and Abkazia. To travel internationally the citizens need a passport from another country. Anton has a Russian passport, through his parents.
To See and Do
Anton brought us to a few places of note in the city centre. Our first port of call was to Stolovka CCCP (Soviet Canteen) serving the culinary delights of the Soviet era in a bssement bunker.
There seemed to be a mix of tourists and locals, but the food left a lot to be desired. I ordered borscht which was very tasty, but it was a little cold and obviously there were no microwave ovens available. I had chicken cooked three ways and the least I say about that the better! The beer however was brilliant.
Most people just come here for the decor, and plenty tourists came in for a look around while we were there and left again.
After lunch we went to see the House of Books, on 25th October St, with its original Soviet decor from the 1960s.
We called into the Soviet Antique Shop, on Strada Karl Liebknecht.
Here I bought some Pridnestrovian plastic coins in a presentation display (these are actual coins - of small value).
We tried on various old Soviet military hats at various stages of the tour and did our best to strike a serious pose, as the locals passed by smiling to themselves.
Busts of Lenin kept appearing everywhere. Here was one of the biggest ones I saw, in a village on the outskirts of Tiraspol.
Behind is a Soviet-style conference hall and music venue, frozen in time and still in use, with a big musical event happening that same evening.
Next we crossed over the Dniester river on an old Soviet metal barge bridge. No electrics are used, just good old-fashioned mechanics involving pulleys.
We saw the factory entrance where Anton's parents came to find work, still with a Soviet sculpture praising hard work.
There were a lot of Soviet collective farms in the area, and while they no longer exist, this marks the entrance to one of them.
We visited a really beautiful Orthodox Monastery.
There were four separate churches within the grounds.
They were all in a really good state of preservation, the one below was having major restoration work done inside.
We stopped in the countryside and Anton pointed to the Ukrainian border, just a few fields away. It made the Ukrainian war seem very real.
Finally we drove to the jewel in the crown of Pridniestrovie, Bendery Fortress, where all tourists are encouraged to visit. It is in a town called Bender about 10km from the capital. Before it was turned into a tourist attraction, the whole complex was an army barracks and Anton completed his military service here. There is still a smaller army barracks on site.
My phone battery had nearly died at this stage and I wanted to save the final % that remained, so this is a photo I took from the official PMR Tourism website at www.pridnestrovie-tourism.com/en
Overall Impression
On reflection, Transnistria feels like an open-air museum of the Soviet Union. It has its own government, currency, flag – yet isn’t officially recognized by any country. It’s safe, affordable, and full of character. The locals are reserved but helpful, friendly and open up to strangers with a smile, once the initial ice is broken.
Anton stopped loads of them as we walked around, so that we would be able to interact with real locals and not just a tour guide.
The city centre is even cleaner, neater and more modern than Chișinău city centre. There is definitely plenty evidence of public investment in roads, footpaths, buildings, play parks, public art and fountains, etc.
It is not all nostalgia, this is a real modern working city, and it was strange to see old-style Soviet eateries side by side with sleek new modern eating spots and hipster coffee shops.
The marshrutka got back to Chișinău around 8pm. I looked for somewhere for dinner and came across a huge branch of Andy’s. Rather than look elsewhere I went in.
I ordered a pizza, some fries and a half litre of their chilled red house wine. It was still 27 degrees outside at 9pm, so I could now understand why they chill the red wine!
What does the future hold for Pridnestrovie and Moldova?
I wondered what the future held for this region, and I wanted to get the Moldovan take on the area before I left, as I knew I would be getting the Pridnestrovian perspective from Anton.
So over the two days spent in Moldova I asked anyone with English or French (some of the older people speak a little French) what they thought - including servers, barmen and taxi drivers.
I can summarise what they said as follows --they accept that because of the unresolved border dispute, Moldova's wish to join the EU will probably be put on hold indefinitely, despite any pro-Europe result in the upcoming elections.
With regard to Transnistria, they feel that for Russia, Transnistria is basically an anchor, they feel Russia wants to use the region to prevent Moldova from creating stronger ties with the West indefinitely. This is why they keep supporting the place financially, even though paradoxically the Kremlin does not recognise Transnistria as a separate state from Moldova. They are simply happy for it to continue to be legally part of Moldova, as this serves a larger purpose - controlling / influencing Moldova.
Every young person felt that Russia was stoking division in the current election campaign by supporting anti-Europe parties, that Russian propaganda was everywhere in the media, and that both Moldova and Transnistria are political pawns in the ongoing game of chess between Russia and the West.
It seems to me that Russia may be hoping to use the exact same tactic in any future Ukrainian settlement. By seeking to maintain control in the three regions of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, it will prevent Ukraine from ever joining NATO or the EU.
From Pridnestrovie with love 👋
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