97-605: Transnistria , officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie , is a breakaway state internationally recognized as part of Moldova . It controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester river and the Moldova–Ukraine border , as well as some land on the other side of the river's bank. Its capital and largest city is Tiraspol . Transnistria
194-657: A multi-party system . The majority in the supreme council belongs to the Renewal movement that defeated the Republic party affiliated with Igor Smirnov in 2005 and performed even better in the 2010 and 2015 elections. Elections in Transnistria are not recognised by international bodies such as the European Union , as well as numerous individual countries, who called them a source of increased tensions. There
291-639: A considerable amount of the army's materiel was taken without resistance or given to the PMR armed forces. The commanding officer of the Army, General G. I. Yakovlev, was openly supportive of the newly created PMR. He participated in the founding of the PMR, served in the PMR Supreme Soviet and accepted the position as the first chairman of the PMR Department of Defense on 3 December 1991, causing
388-519: A councilor of Moldovan-controlled part of the Dubăsari district . Amid the prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine , on 14 January 2022 Ukrainian military intelligence declared that Russian special services were preparing "provocations" against Russian soldiers stationed in Transnistria at the time to create a casus belli for a Russian invasion of Ukraine . On 24 February, on the first day of
485-594: A decree authorising the transfer of military equipment of 14th Guards Army units stationed on the right bank of the Dniester to the Republic of Moldova. This military equipment had constituted the majority of the materiel utilized by the Moldovan National Army in the ensuing War of Transnistria . A second decree, issued on 1 April by Boris Yeltsin , transferred the personnel of the 14th Guards Army, as well as all left-bank military equipment, including
582-431: A large ammunition depot at Cobasna , under Russian control. By June 1992 the situation had escalated to an open military engagement. With the near disintegration of the Russian army during the heaviest fighting in and around the city of Bender (Tighina), in the wake of a coordinated offensive by Moldovan forces, General Major Alexander Lebed arrived at the 14th Army headquarters on 23 June with standing orders to stop
679-480: A legal part of the Republic of Moldova. Only the partially recognised or unrecognised states of South Ossetia and Abkhazia have recognised Transnistria as a sovereign entity after it declared independence from Moldova in 1990 with Tiraspol as its declared capital. Between 1929 and 1940, Tiraspol functioned as the capital of the Moldavian ASSR , an autonomous republic that existed from 1924 to 1940 within
776-429: A limited scale that broke out between Transnistrian separatists and Moldova as early as November 1990 at Dubăsari . Volunteers, including Cossacks , came from Russia to help the separatist side. In mid-April 1992, under the agreements on the split of the military equipment of the former Soviet Union negotiated between the former 15 republics in the previous months, Moldova created its own Defence Ministry. According to
873-789: A peaceful outcome of the conflict. According to PMR advocates, the territory to the east of the Dniester River never belonged either to Romania nor to its predecessors, such as the Principality of Moldavia . This territory was split off from the Ukrainian SSR in a political maneuver of the USSR to become a seed of the Moldavian SSR (in a manner similar to the creation of the Karelo-Finnish SSR ). In 1990,
970-622: A total of 147 localities (including here those unincorporated). Six communes on the left bank ( Cocieri , Molovata Nouă , Corjova , Pîrîta , Coșnița , and Doroțcaia ) remained under the control of the Moldovan government after the Transnistria War of 1992, as part of the Dubăsari District . They are situated north and south of the city of Dubăsari, which itself is under PMR control. The village of Roghi of Molovata Nouă Commune
1067-468: Is Pridnestrovie ( Russian : Приднестровье , pronounced [prʲɪ.dʲnʲɪ.ˈstro.v⁽ʲ⁾je] ; Romanian : Nistrenia , Moldovan Cyrillic : Нистрения , pronounced [nis.tre.ni.ja] ; Ukrainian : Придністров'я , Prydnistrovia , pronounced [prɪ.ɟɲi.ˈstrɔu̯.jɐ] ), meaning "[land] by the Dniester". The Supreme Council passed a law on 4 September 2024 which banned
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#17327660066271164-488: Is the M4 road from Tiraspol to Rîbnița through Dubăsari . The highway is controlled in its entirety by the PMR. North and south of Dubăsari it passes through land corridors controlled by Moldova in the villages of Doroțcaia, Cocieri, Roghi, and Vasilievca , the latter being located entirely to the east of the road. The road is the de facto border between Moldova and Transnistria in the area. Conflict erupted on several occasions when
1261-758: Is a post-Soviet " frozen conflict " zone. These three partially recognised or unrecognised states maintain friendly relations with each other and form the Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations . In March 2022, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution that defines the territory as under military occupation by Russia . The region can also be referred to in English as Dniesteria , Trans-Dniester , Transdniester or Transdniestria . These names are adaptations of
1358-502: Is also controlled by the PMR (Moldova controls the other nine of the 10 villages of the six communes). On the west bank, in Bessarabia, the city of Bender (Tighina) and four communes (containing six villages) to its east, south-east, and south, on the opposite bank of the river Dniester from the city of Tiraspol ( Proteagailovca , Gîsca , Chițcani , and Cremenciug ) are controlled by the PMR. The localities controlled by Moldova on
1455-470: Is an ongoing frozen conflict between Moldova and the unrecognized state of Transnistria . Its most active phase was the Transnistria War . There have been several unsuccessful attempts to resolve the conflict. The conflict may be considered to have started on 2 September 1990, when Transnistria made a formal sovereignty declaration from Moldova (then part of the Soviet Union ). Transnistria
1552-459: Is based on, for 411 km; 255 mi) to the west, and Ukraine (for 405 km; 252 mi) to the east. It is a narrow valley stretching north–south along the bank of the Dniester river , which forms a natural boundary along most of the de facto border with Moldova. The territory controlled by the PMR is mostly, but not completely, conterminous with the left (eastern) bank of Dniester. It includes ten cities and towns, and 69 communes, with
1649-467: Is disagreement over whether elections in Transnistria are free and fair. The political regime has been described as one of "super- presidentialism " before the 2011 constitutional reform. During the 2006 presidential election, the registration of opposition candidate Andrey Safonov was delayed until a few days before the vote, so that he had little time to conduct an election campaign. Some sources consider election results suspect. In 2001, in one region it
1746-497: Is estimated that 60,000 to 80,000 inhabitants of Transnistria have acquired Russian citizenship and around 20,000 have acquired Ukrainian citizenship. As a result, Moldovan authorities have tried to block the installation of a Russian and Ukrainian consulate in Tiraspol . Only two states recognize Transnistria 's sovereignty, each itself a largely unrecognized state: Abkhazia and South Ossetia . These two states are members of
1843-460: Is illegal. The Moldavian side hence believes that its position is backed by international law. It considers the current Transnistria-based PMR government to be illegitimate and not the rightful representative of the region's population, which has a Moldovan plurality (39.9% as of 1989). The Moldovan side insists that Transnistria cannot exist as an independent political entity and must be reintegrated into Moldova . According to Moldovan sources,
1940-419: Is in fact divided between PMR and Moldovan central government areas of control. Roghi is also controlled by the PMR authorities. At the same time, some areas on the right bank of the Dniester are under PMR control. These areas consist of the city of Bender with its suburb Proteagailovca , the communes Gîsca , Chițcani (including villages Mereneşti and Zahorna), and the commune of Cremenciug , formally in
2037-654: Is internationally recognized as a part of Moldova . It has diplomatic recognition only from two Russian-backed separatist states: Abkhazia and South Ossetia . The Soviet Union in the 1930s had an autonomous region of Transnistria inside Ukraine , called the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (MASSR), half of whose population were Romanian -speaking people, and with Tiraspol as its capital. During World War II , when Romania , aided by Nazi Germany , took control of Transnistria , it did not attempt to annex
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#17327660066272134-427: Is located over the strategic road linking Tiraspol and Rîbnița , but withdrew after a few days. In 2006 there were tensions around Varnița . In 2007 there was a confrontation between Moldovan and PMR forces in the Dubăsari - Cocieri area; however, there were no casualties. On 13 May 2007, the mayor of the village of Corjova , which is under Moldovan control, was arrested by the PMR militsia (police) together with
2231-576: Is officially designated by the Republic of Moldova as the Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester ( Romanian : Unitățile Administrativ-Teritoriale din stînga Nistrului ) or as Stînga Nistrului ("Left (Bank) of the Dniester"). The region's origins can be traced to the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic , which was formed in 1924 within the Ukrainian SSR . During World War II ,
2328-698: Is taught in Transnistrian schools and is one of the official languages of the republic. However, in March, an image of the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko standing in front of a battle plan map of the invasion of Ukraine was leaked. This map showed a supposed incursion of Russian troops from the Ukrainian city port of Odesa into Transnistria and Moldova, revealing that Transnistria could become involved in
2425-416: Is unvarying all year round, although with a slight increase in the summer months. Transnistria is subdivided into five districts ( raions ) and one municipality, the city of Tiraspol (which is entirely surrounded by but administratively distinct from Slobozia District), listed below from north to south (Russian names and transliterations are appended in parentheses). In addition, another municipality,
2522-475: The Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester within the Republic of Moldova. According to the 2004 census, the population of Transnistria comprised 555,347 people, while at the 2015 census the population decreased to 475,373. In 2004, 90% of the population of Transnistria were citizens of Transnistria. Transnistrians may have dual, triple or even quadruple citizenship of internationally recognised countries, including: Fifteen villages from
2619-508: The Black Sea . Amid rumors that Transnistria would attack Ukraine, Transnistrian President Vadim Krasnoselski declared Transnistria to be a peaceful state which never had any plans to attack its neighbors and that those who spread these allegations were people without control over the situation or provocateurs with malicious intentions. He also made reference to the large ethnically Ukrainian population of Transnistria and how Ukrainian
2716-529: The Commander-in-Chief of the CIS armed forces, Yevgeny Shaposhnikov , to relieve him of his rank and service in the Russian military. Yakovlev's successor, General Yuriy Netkachev has assumed a more neutral stance in the conflict. However, his attempts at mediation between Chișinău (capital of Moldova) and Tiraspol (capital of PMR) were largely unsuccessful. On 23 March 1992, Shaposhnikov signed
2813-407: The Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations . On 21 February 2023, Russian president Vladimir Putin revoked the foreign policy document that declared Russian commitment to Moldovan sovereignty in the context of the Transnistria conflict. On 22 June 2018, the Republic of Moldova submitted a UN resolution that calls for "Complete and unconditional withdrawal of foreign military forces from
2910-604: The Căușeni District , situated south of the city of Bender. The breakaway PMR authorities also claim the communes of Varnița , in the Anenii Noi District , a northern suburb of Bender, and Copanca , in the Căușeni District, south of Chițcani, but these villages remain under Moldovan control. Several disputes have arisen from these cross-river territories. In 2005, PMR militia entered Vasilievca , which
3007-597: The Joint Control Commission between Moldova, Russia and Transnistria since 1992. The Government of Moldova currently views the presence of Russian troops in Moldova as illegitimate and has repeatedly called for their withdrawal and replacement by international forces. Russia, however, has opposed this. On 15 March 2022, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recognized Transnistria as Moldovan territory occupied by Russia. The 14th Army
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3104-656: The Joint Control Commission . The 14th Guards Army itself was reformed in April 1995 into the Operational Group of Russian Forces (OGRF) which came under the command of the Moscow Military District and was charged with guarding the Cobasna ammunition depot. Another more recent source gives the disbandment date of the 14th Guards Army as 25 June 1995. The 59th Guards Motor Rifle Division became
3201-682: The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and declared the 2 August 1940 "Law of the USSR on the establishment of the Moldavian SSR" null and void. The PMR side argues that, since this law was the only legislative document binding Transnistria to Moldova, there is neither historical nor legal basis for Moldova's claims over the territories on the left bank of the Dniester . A 2010 study conducted by the University of Colorado Boulder showed that
3298-553: The NATO Parliamentary Assembly adopted a resolution, urging Russia to "respect its commitments which were taken at the Istanbul OSCE Summit in 1999 and withdraw its illegal military presence from the Transnistrian region of Moldova in the nearest future". On 7 April 2016, Russia announced it would withdraw its troops from Moldova once the problem of liquidating the 14th Army's armament depots
3395-705: The Pridnestrovian Moldavian SSR was proclaimed in the region by a number of conservative local Soviet officials opposed to perestroika . This action was immediately declared void by the then General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev . At the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova became independent. The Moldovan Declaration of Independence denounced
3492-728: The Soviet Union took parts of the Moldavian ASSR , which was dissolved, and of the Kingdom of Romania 's Bessarabia to form the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1940. The present history of the region dates to 1990, during the dissolution of the Soviet Union , when the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was established in hopes that it would remain within the Soviet Union should Moldova seek unification with Romania or independence,
3589-514: The Supreme Soviet of the Moldavian SSR adopted Moldovan as the official language with Russian retained only for secondary purposes, returned Moldovan to the Latin alphabet , and declared a shared Moldovan-Romanian linguistic identity. As plans for major cultural changes in Moldova were made public, tensions rose further. Ethnic minorities felt threatened by the prospects of removing Russian as
3686-511: The Transnistria Governorate , with an area of 39,733 km (15,341 sq mi) and a population of 2.3 million inhabitants, was divided into 13 counties: Ananiev, Balta, Berzovca, Dubasari, Golta, Jugastru, Movilau, Oceacov, Odessa, Ovidiopol , Rîbnița, Tiraspol, and Tulcin. This expanded Transnistria was home to nearly 200,000 Romanian-speaking residents. The Romanian administration of Transnistria attempted to stabilise
3783-505: The Transnistria War in support of the Transnistrian separatist forces. Following the end of the war, which ended in a Russian-backed Transnistrian victory and in the de facto independence of the region, the Russian forces stayed in a purportedly peacekeeping mission and reorganized in 1995 into the Operational Group of Russian Forces (OGRF), currently guarding the Cobasna ammunition depot . Some other Russian soldiers also participate in
3880-607: The Transnistria War , the most active stage of this conflict. While the official policy of the Russian Federation early after the outbreak of the widespread armed conflict in 1992 was one of neutrality, many soldiers and officers of the 14th Army were sympathetic to the PMR cause and had defected to the PMR and actively participated in the fighting as part of its armed forces, the Republican Guards. Furthermore,
3977-589: The official language , which served as the medium of interethnic communication, and by the possible future reunification of Moldova and Romania, as well as the ethnocentric rhetoric of the PFM. The Yedinstvo (Unity) Movement, established by the Slavic population of Moldova, pressed for equal status for both the Russian and Moldovan languages. Transnistria's ethnic and linguistic composition differed significantly from most of
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4074-473: The 11 communes of Dubăsari District, including Cocieri and Doroțcaia that geographically are located on the east bank of the Dniester (in Transnistria region), have been under the control of the central government of Moldova after the involvement of local inhabitants on the side of Moldovan forces during the War of Transnistria. These villages, along with Varnița and Copanca , near Bender and Tiraspol, are claimed by
4171-504: The 14th Army formations stationed on left bank of the Dniester obliterated the Moldovan force concentrated in Hîrbovăț forest, near Bender, effectively ending the military phase of the conflict. According to at least one Moldovan source, 112 Moldovan soldiers were killed by the bombardment. After the end of the conflict, a separate Russian unit was moved into the region as part of the joint Moldovan–Russian–Transnistrian peacekeeping force,
4268-409: The 8th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade on 1 June 1997. The force is now around 1,200 strong, and according to Kommersant -Vlast in 2005, consisted of the 8th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, the 1162nd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment, 15th Signals Regiment, and other support units. On 1 November 2002, the 8th MR Brigade was disbanded, and the remaining personnel, numbering 5,719 effectives were absorbed into
4365-494: The City of Bender, situated on the western bank of the Dniester, in Bessarabia, and geographically outside Transnistria, is not part of the territorial unit of Transnistria as defined by the Moldovan central authorities, but it is controlled by the PMR authorities, which consider it part of PMR's administrative organisation: Each of the districts is further divided into cities and communes. All UN member states consider Transnistria
4462-761: The December Budapest declaration of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe . The OSCE expressed concern over the lack of progress in its 1996 Lisbon Document. At the OSCE Istanbul summit in November 1999, Russia again promised to withdraw its forces from Moldova (and from Georgia), this time with a firm commitment to a deadline of 31 December 2002 written into the summit documents. These promises were not fulfilled. On 18 November 2008,
4559-477: The Dniester"). According to the Transnistrian authorities, the name of the state is the "Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic" (PMR) ( Russian : Приднестро́вская Молда́вская Респу́блика, ПМР , Pridnestróvskaya Moldávskaya Respúblika ; Romanian : Republica Moldovenească Nistreană, RMN , Moldovan Cyrillic : Република Молдовеняскэ Нистрянэ, РМН ; Ukrainian : Придністро́вська Молда́вська Респу́бліка, ПМР , Prydnistróvska Moldávska Respúblika ). The short form
4656-825: The Dubăsari-Cocieri area, when a confrontation between Moldovan and Transnistrian forces occurred, though without any casualties. June 2010 surveys indicated that 13% of Transnistria's population desired the area's reintegration into Moldova in the condition of territorial autonomy, while 46% wanted Transnistria to be part of the Russian Federation. Transnistria is a non-UN member state recognised as independent only by Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both being non-UN member states with limited recognition. Nina Shtanski served as Transnistria's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2015; Vitaly Ignatiev [ ru ] succeeded her as minister. In 2024 Vitaly Ignatiev
4753-467: The European Union, and thus less likely to enter negotiations for economic relief from Transnistria. Transnistria's vaguely worded request for "protection" from Russia has led to fears that, instead of offering economic aid, Russia will attempt to "annex" the region, as they did with occupied Ukraine in 2022 . Transnistria is landlocked and borders Bessarabia (the region the Republic of Moldova
4850-658: The Moldavian SSR in the following months on charges of collaboration with the Romanian occupiers. A later campaign directed against rich peasant families deported them to the Kazakh SSR and Siberia . Over the course of two days, 6–7 July 1949, a plan named "Operation South" saw the deportation of over 11,342 families by order of the Moldavian Minister of State Security, Iosif Mordovets. In the 1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev 's policies of perestroika and glasnost in
4947-493: The Moldovan police refused to intervene or restore order. In the interest of preserving a unified Moldavian SSR within the USSR and preventing the situation escalating further, then Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, while citing the restriction of civil rights of ethnic minorities by Moldova as the cause of the dispute, declared the Transnistria proclamation to be devoid of a legal basis and annulled it by presidential decree on 22 December 1990. Nevertheless, no significant action
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#17327660066275044-627: The PFM demanded that the Soviet authorities declare Moldovan the only state language, return to the use of the Latin alphabet, and recognise the shared ethnic identity of Moldovans and Romanians. The more radical factions of the PFM espoused extreme anti-minority, ethnocentric and chauvinist positions, calling for minority populations, particularly the Slavs (mainly Russians and Ukrainians) and Gagauz , to leave or be expelled from Moldova. On 31 August 1989,
5141-622: The PMR prevented the villagers from reaching their farmland east of the road. Transnistrians are able to travel (normally without difficulty) in and out of the territory under PMR control to neighbouring Moldovan-controlled territory and to Ukraine. International air travellers rely on the airport in the Moldovan capital Chișinău , or the airport in Odesa , in Ukraine. The climate is humid continental with subtropical characteristics. Transnistria has warm summers and cool to cold winters. Precipitation
5238-468: The PMR. One city (Bender) and six villages located on the west bank (in Bessarabia region) are controlled by the PMR, but are considered by Moldova as a separate municipality (Bender and village of Proteagailovca ) or part of the Căușeni District (five villages in three communes). Tense situations have periodically surfaced due to these territorial disputes, such as in 2005, when Transnistrian forces entered Vasilievca, in 2006 around Varnița, and in 2007 in
5335-736: The Peacekeeping Forces command. As a result of reduction in the strength of the Operational Group (commander General-Major Boris Sergeyev) the remaining strength as of 2006 is about 1,000–1,500 troops, and comprises: The operational group was as of June 2019 commanded by Colonel Dmitry Zelenkov of Russia and numbered 1,500 troops. It serves alongside the Joint Control Commission. Russia agreed to withdraw its 14th Army from Moldovan territory in an agreement signed 21 October 1994 and acknowledged in
5432-549: The People movement were outlawed at the beginning of 2000 and eventually dissolved. Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria [REDACTED] Moldova [REDACTED] Transnistria The Transnistria conflict ( Romanian : Conflictul din Transnistria ; Russian : Приднестровский конфликт , romanized : Pridnestrovsky konflikt ; Ukrainian : Придністровський конфлікт , romanized : Prydnistrovskyi konflikt )
5529-474: The Romanian colloquial name of the region, Transnistria , meaning "beyond the Dniester". The term Transnistria was used in relation to eastern Moldova for the first time in the year 1989, in the election slogan of the deputy and member of the Popular Front of Moldova Leonida Lari : I will throw out the invaders, aliens and mankurt over the Dniester, I will throw them out of Transnistria, and you,
5626-408: The Romanians, are the real owners of this long-suffering land ... We will make them speak Romanian, respect our language, our culture! The documents of the government of Moldova refer to the region as Stînga Nistrului (in full, Unitățile Administrativ-Teritoriale din Stînga Nistrului ) meaning "Left (Bank) of the Dniester" (in full, "Administrative-territorial unit(s) of the Left Bank of
5723-489: The Russian Federation to unconditionally withdraw its troops and armaments without delay from the territory of the Republic of Moldova. To this day, Moldova continues to request the withdrawal of the Russian troops from Transnistria, having done so as recently as in 2021. Furthermore, in 2022, amid an increase in tensions between Ukraine and Russia which served as a prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , allegations by Ukrainian intelligence appeared that said Russia
5820-419: The Soviet Union allowed political liberalisation at a regional level. This led to the creation of various informal movements all over the country, and to a rise of nationalism within most Soviet republics. In the Moldavian SSR in particular, there was a significant resurgence of pro-Romanian nationalism among Moldovans. The most prominent of these movements was the Popular Front of Moldova (PFM) . In early 1988,
5917-554: The Transnistrian demand to maintain a Russian military presence for the next 20 years as a guarantee for the intended federation. The 5+2 format (or 5+2 talks, comprising Transnistria, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE, plus the United States and the EU as external observers) for negotiation was started in 2005 to deal with the problems, but without results for many years as it was suspended. In February 2011, talks were resumed in Vienna , continuing through to 2018 with some minor agreements being reached. Moldova had, by 2023, dropped
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#17327660066276014-401: The Transnistrian position, which sought equal status between Transnistria and Moldova, but gave Transnistria veto powers over future constitutional changes, thus encouraging Transnistria to sign it. Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin was initially supportive of the plan, but refused to sign it after internal opposition and international pressure from the OSCE and US, and after Russia had endorsed
6111-415: The Ukrainian SSR. Although exercising no direct control over the territory of Transnistria, the Moldovan government passed the "Law on Basic Provisions of the Special Legal Status of Localities from the Left Bank of the Dniester" on 22 July 2005, which established part of Transnistria (territory of Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic without Bender and without territories, which are under control of Moldova) as
6208-510: The Ukrainian border must be registered with the Moldovan authorities . This agreement was implemented after the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) took force in 2005. In addition to the unrecognized Transnistrian citizenship, most Transnistrians have Moldovan citizenship, but many also have Russian, Romanian, or Ukrainian citizenship. The main ethnic groups are Russians, Moldovans/Romanians, and Ukrainians. Transnistria, along with Abkhazia and South Ossetia ,
6305-682: The Ukrainian border with Moldova. Minnekaev announced that the plan of Russia's military action in Ukraine included taking full control of Southern Ukraine and achieving a land corridor to Transnistria. He also talked about the existence of supposed evidence of "oppression of the Russian-speaking population" of Transnistria, echoing Russia's justifications for the war in Ukraine. The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine described this intention as imperialism , saying that it contradicted previous Russian claims that it did not have territorial ambitions in Ukraine". On 26 April, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said during an interview that Moldova
6402-429: The annexed territory with part of the former Moldavian ASSR roughly equivalent to present-day Transnistria. In 1941, after Axis forces invaded the Soviet Union in the Second World War , they defeated the Soviet troops in the region and occupied it. Romania controlled the entire region between Dniester and Southern Bug rivers, including the city of Odesa as local capital. The Romanian-administered territory, known as
6499-418: The ballot: the first one was, "Renunciation of independence and potential future integration into Moldova"; the second was, "Independence and potential future integration into Russia ". The results of this double referendum were that a large section of the population was against the first statement (96.61%) and in favor of the second one (98.07%). Moldova lost de facto control of Transnistria in 1992, in
6596-490: The ceasefire has held, the territory's political status remains unresolved: Transnistria is an unrecognized but de facto independent semi-presidential republic with its own government , parliament , military , police , postal system, currency , and vehicle registration. Its authorities have adopted a constitution , flag , national anthem , and coat of arms . After a 2005 agreement between Moldova and Ukraine , all Transnistrian companies seeking to export goods through
6693-564: The decree of its creation, most of the 14th Guards Army 's military equipment was to be retained by Moldova. Starting from 2 March 1992, there was concerted military action between Moldova and Transnistria. The fighting intensified throughout early 1992. The former Soviet 14th Guards Army entered the conflict in its final stage, opening fire against Moldovan forces; approximately 700 people were killed. Moldova has since then exercised no effective control or influence on Transnistrian authorities. A ceasefire agreement, signed on 21 July 1992, has held to
6790-450: The eastern bank, the village of Roghi , and the city of Dubăsari (situated on the eastern bank and controlled by the PMR) form a security zone along with the six villages and one city controlled by the PMR on the western bank, as well as two ( Varnița and Copanca ) on the same west bank under Moldovan control. The security situation inside it is subject to the Joint Control Commission rulings. The main transportation route in Transnistria
6887-455: The establishment of legal and state relations, although the memorandum's provisions were interpreted differently by the two governments. In November 2003, Dmitry Kozak , a counselor of Russian president Vladimir Putin , proposed a memorandum on the creation of an asymmetric federal Moldovan state, with Moldova holding a majority and Transnistria being a minority part of the federation. Known as "the Kozak memorandum ", it did not coincide with
6984-422: The great majority of its soldiers, including 51 percent of the officers and 79 percent of the draftees. On 19 November 1990, the 14th Guards Army included the following units. Tensions between the region of what today composes Transnistria and the central government of Moldova arose during the latest stages of the Soviet Union (USSR), during its dissolution in late 1991. This conflict eventually erupted into
7081-586: The invasion , there were allegations that some rockets that had hit Ukraine had been launched from Transnistria, although Moldova 's Ministry of Defense denied this. On 4 March, Ukraine blew up a railway bridge on its border with Transnistria to prevent the 1,400 Russian troops stationed in the breakaway territory from crossing into Ukraine. Later, on 6 March, there were again claims that attacks that had hit Vinnytsia 's airport had been launched from Transnistria, although Moldovan officials again denied this and said that they had been launched from Russian ships in
7178-521: The latter occurring in August 1991. Shortly afterwards, a military conflict between the two parties started in March 1992 and concluded with a ceasefire in July that year. As a part of the ceasefire agreement, a three-party (Moldova, Russia, and Transnistria) Joint Control Commission and a trilateral peacekeeping force subordinated to the commission were created to deal with ceasefire violations. Although
7275-411: The majority of Transnistria's population supports the country's separation from Moldova. According to the study, more than 80% of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians and 60% of ethnic Moldovans in Transnistria preferred independence or annexation by Russia to reunification with Moldova. In 2006, officials of the country held a referendum to determine the status of Transnistria. There were two statements on
7372-716: The occupied territory during the war, although it planned do so in the future. During the War of Transnistria , some villages in the central part of Transnistria (on the eastern bank of the Dniester ) rebelled against the new separatist Transnistria (PMR) authorities. They have been under effective Moldovan control as a consequence of their rebellion against the PMR. These localities are: commune Cocieri (including village Vasilievca ), commune Molovata Nouă (including village Roghi ), commune Corjova (including village Mahala ), commune Coșnița (including village Pohrebea ), commune Pîrîta , and commune Doroțcaia . The village of Corjova
7469-437: The ongoing conflict with any available means, inspect the army, prevent the theft of armaments from its depots and ensure the unimpeded evacuation of armaments and Army personnel from Moldovan and through Ukrainian territory. After briefly assessing the situation, he assumed command of the army, relieving Netkachev, and ordered his troops to enter the conflict directly. On 3 July at 03:00, a massive artillery strike originating from
7566-444: The political climate in Transnistria does not allow the free expression of the will of the people of the region and supporters of reintegration of Transnistria in Moldova are subjected to harassment, arbitrary arrests and other types of intimidation from separatist authorities. Because of the non-recognition of Transnistria's independence, Moldova believes that all inhabitants of Transnistria are legally citizens of Moldova. However, it
7663-424: The present day. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is trying to facilitate a negotiated settlement. Under OSCE auspices, on 8 May 1997, Moldovan President Petru Lucinschi and Transnistrian President Igor Smirnov , signed the "Memorandum on the principles of normalization of relations between the Republic of Moldova and Transnistria", also known as the "Primakov Memorandum", sustaining
7760-430: The rest of Moldova. The proportion of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians was especially high and an overall majority of the population, some of them Moldovans, spoke Russian as their mother tongue. The nationalist PFM won the first free parliamentary elections in the Moldavian SSR in early 1990, and its agenda started slowly to be implemented. On 2 September 1990, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (PMSSR)
7857-585: The situation in the area under Romanian control, implementing a process of Romanianization . During the Romanian occupation of 1941–44, between 150,000 and 250,000 Ukrainian and Romanian Jews were deported to Transnistria; the majority were murdered or died from other causes in the ghettos and concentration camps of the Governorate. After the Red Army advanced into the area in 1944, Soviet authorities executed, exiled or imprisoned hundreds of inhabitants of
7954-592: The situation, and in 2024 the Supreme Council was convened for the first time since 2006, with the council requesting economic assistance from Russia, and stating that Moldova was actively committing a genocide in the region. The harsh language towards Moldova, coupled with the Russian-backed Șor protests , and an attempted coup plotted by the Wagner Group has shifted Moldova further towards
8051-544: The so-called peacekeeping mission of the Russian Army in Transnistria, or presenting interpretations perceived to be "false" by the Transnistrian government of the Russian Army's military mission. The punishment is up to three years of jail for ordinary people or up to seven years of jail if the crime was committed by a person of responsibility or a group of persons by prior agreement. On 22 June 2018, UN General Assembly adopted resolution (document A/72/L.58), which urged
8148-564: The term 5+2 in diplomatic discussions. After the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in March 2014, the head of the Transnistrian parliament asked to join Russia . After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukraine sealed its border with Transnistria, which had been the primary route for goods to enter the region. As such, Transnistria is wholly reliant on Moldova to allow imports through its own border. Transnistrian politicians have grown increasingly anxious about
8245-583: The territory of the Republic of Moldova, including Transnistria ." The resolution was adopted by a simple majority. Russian military presence in Transnistria The Russian Federation maintains an unknown number of soldiers in Transnistria , an unrecognized breakaway state internationally recognized as part of Moldova . This Russian military presence dates back to 1992, when the 14th Guards Army intervened in
8342-493: The time formed part of the Kingdom of Romania . One of the reasons for the creation of the Moldavian ASSR was the desire of the Soviet Union at the time to eventually incorporate Bessarabia. On 28 June 1940, the USSR annexed Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina from Romania under the terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , and on 2 August 1940 the Supreme Soviet of the USSR created the Moldavian SSR by combining part of
8439-430: The use of the term "Transnistria" within the region, imposing a fine of 360 rubles or up to 15 days imprisonment for using the name in public. In 1924, the Moldavian ASSR was proclaimed within the Ukrainian SSR . The ASSR included today's Transnistria (4,100 km; 1,600 sq mi) and an area (4,200 km; 1,600 sq mi) to the northeast around the city of Balta , but nothing from Bessarabia , which at
8536-497: The wake of the War of Transnistria . However, the Republic of Moldova considers itself the rightful successor state to the Moldavian SSR (which was guaranteed the right to secession from the Soviet Union under the last version of the Soviet Constitution ). By the principle of territorial integrity , Moldova claims that any form of secession from the state without the consent of the central Moldovan government
8633-402: The war. Ukrainian military officials had identified the establishment of a "land corridor" to Transnistria as one of Russia's primary objectives since the first day of the invasion. On 22 April 2022, Russia's Brigadier General Rustam Minnekayev in a defence ministry meeting said that Russia planned to extend its Mykolaiv–Odesa front in the Ukraine war further west to include the Transnistria on
8730-573: Was a close neighbor to Ukraine, that Ukraine was not indifferent to it and that Moldova could turn to Ukraine for help. He also declared that Ukraine was able to solve the problem of Transnistria "in the blink of an eye", but only if Moldovan authorities requested the country's help; and that Romania could also come to Moldova's aid as "they are in fact the same people", with the same language as he continued, even though "there are many Moldovans who would not agree with me". Moldova officially rejected this suggestion from Ukraine, expressing its support only for
8827-557: Was declared wanted by the Security Service of Ukraine due to suspicion of collaboration and encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Transnistria is a semi-presidential republic with a powerful presidency. The president is directly elected for a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms. The current President is Vadim Krasnoselsky . The Supreme Council is a unicameral legislature. It has 43 members who are elected for 5-year terms. Elections take place within
8924-587: Was formed as a unit of the Soviet Army on 25 November 1956 from the 10th Guards Budapest Rifle Corps , formerly part of the Odesa Military District with headquarters in Chișinău . In 1964 the 88th Motor Rifle Division (MRD) became the 180th MRD, and the 118th MRD became the 48th MRD. In the 1980s the army headquarters was moved to Tiraspol , within the then Moldavian SSR . By 1991, the army
9021-573: Was made up of four MRDs and other smaller units. Only the 59th Guards Motor Rifle Division and some smaller units, including the 1162nd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment were on the left bank of the Dniester in the region of Transnistria . Other formations, including the 28th Guards and 180th MRDs, were over the border in Ukraine and became part of the Ukrainian Ground Forces . According to the Army sources, local Transnistrians made up
9118-741: Was proclaimed as a Soviet republic by an ad hoc assembly, the Second Congress of the Peoples' Representatives of Transnistria, following a successful referendum . Violence escalated when in October 1990 the PFM called for volunteers to form armed militias to stop an autonomy referendum in Gagauzia , which had an even higher proportion of ethnic minorities. In response, volunteer militias were formed in Transnistria. In April 1990, nationalist mobs attacked ethnic Russian members of parliament, while
9215-511: Was reported that Igor Smirnov collected 103.6% of the votes. The PMR government said "the government of Moldova launched a campaign aimed at convincing international observers not to attend" an election held on 11 December 2005 – but monitors from the Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States election monitors ignored that and declared the ballot democratic. The opposition Narodovlastie party and Power to
9312-454: Was solved. Complicating the withdrawal is the necessity to transit the armaments through Ukraine , which has had a hostile relationship after the Russian annexation of Crimea and the Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014. On 27 June 2016, a new law entered in force in Transnistria, punishing actions or public statements, including through the usage of mass media, networks of information and telecommunications or internet criticizing
9409-490: Was taken against Transnistria and the new authorities were slowly able to establish control of the region. Following the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt , the Pridnestrovian Moldavian SSR declared its independence from the Soviet Union. On 5 November 1991 Transnistria abandoned its socialist ideology and was renamed "Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic". The Transnistria War followed armed clashes on
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