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 is officially designated by the Republic of Moldova as the Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester or as Stînga Nistrului.
Igor Nikolaevich Smirnov is a Russian-born Transnistrian politician who served as the first president (1991–2011) of the internationally unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic.
Transnistria, a de facto state internationally-recognised as part of Moldova, has two co-official national flags. The first co-official national flag consists of three horizontal bands of red, green, and red, of vertical width 3:2:3, and in the upper canton, is the main element of the coat of arms of Transnistria; a golden hammer and sickle and a gold-bordered red star. The hammer and sickle fit into a conventional square, and the star, a conditional circle. Transnistria adopted this design that comprises a version of the flag of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic used between 1952 and 1990 in the 2000 Law about State Symbols. The second co-official national flag consists of three horizontal stripes in the colors white, blue, and red, identical to the Russian flag but at a ratio of 1:2 instead of 2:3.
The Transnistria War was an armed conflict that broke out on 2 November 1990 in Dubăsari between pro-Transnistria forces, including the Transnistrian Republican Guard, militia and neo-Cossack units, which were supported by elements of the Russian 14th Army, and pro-Moldovan forces, including Moldovan troops and police.
The Supreme Council of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic is the unicameral legislature of the internationally-unrecognised state of Transnistria. It consists of 33 seats, all of which are determined by single mandate constituencies and is headed by a chairman.
The Transnistria conflict 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 attempts to resolve the conflict, although none have been successful. The conflict may be considered as having started on 2 September 1990, when Transnistria made a formal sovereignty declaration from Moldova.
The 2006 Transnistrian customs crisis started on March 3, 2006, when Ukraine imposed new customs regulations on its border with Moldova on the Transnistrian region by declaring that it will only import goods from Transnistria with documents processed by Moldovan customs offices, as part of the implementation of a joint customs protocol between Ukraine and Moldova on December 30, 2005.
This is the history of Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester river and the Moldovan–Ukrainian border, as well as some land on the other side of the river's bank.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Transnistria, an unrecognized breakaway territory of Moldova and the de facto independent Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.
Presidential elections were held in Transnistria on 10 December 2006. Incumbent President Igor Smirnov won despite opposition having stiffened during the final weeks of the campaign. Three candidates registered to run besides the incumbent Smirnov: Bender MP for the Renewal party Peter Tomaily, Transnistrian Communist Party candidate Nadezhda Bondarenko and journalist Andrey Safonov.
The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (PMSSR), also commonly known as Soviet Transnistria or simply as Transnistria, was created on the eastern periphery of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (MSSR) in 1990 by pro-Soviet separatists who hoped to remain within the Soviet Union when it became clear that the MSSR would achieve independence from the USSR and possibly unite with Romania. The PMSSR was never recognised as a Soviet republic by the authorities in either Moscow or Chișinău. In 1991, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic succeeded the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Referendums in Transnistria, according to the Transnistrian Constitution, are one of the lawful forms of expression of people's will.
Presidential elections were held in the breakaway republic of Transnistria on 9 December 2001. The result was a victory for incumbent President Igor Smirnov, who received 82% of the vote. The other candidates were Tom Zenovich, mayor of Bender, and Alexander Radchenko of the Power to the People party, which advocated reunion with Moldova. The Moldova Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2003, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the U.S. Department of State on February 25, 2004, stated "Citizens' right to change their government was severely restricted in Transnistria. In the period prior to the 2001 "presidential" elections, authorities shut down a political party and a youth group, closed a leftist party newspaper, and seized a press run. The authorities refused to register one potential presidential candidate and dismissed another from his job as mayor of Bender prior to the election. Authorities reportedly threatened workers with job loss and students with expulsion from their universities if they did not vote for the incumbent, Igor Smirnov. Local observers reported that the actual voting was unfair, with considerable ballot box stuffing. Officials in the northern region of Kamenka reported that 103.6 percent of their voters cast ballots for Smirnov." According to an article by the ethnic Russian researcher from Moldova Alla Skvortsova from 2002, "polls and elections in the PMR may to some extent have been rigged".
The Transnistrian republic is recognized by two states with limited recognition, and is a member of one international organization, the Community for Democracy and Human Rights.
The Transnistrian passport is issued to citizens of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic for the purpose of international travel and for the purpose of legal identification within Transnistria.
Presidential elections were held in the breakaway republic of Transnistria on 22 December, 1996. They were won by the incumbent Igor Smirnov, who ruled Transnistria since 1991. Smirnov's only opponent was Vladimir Malakhov, who was beaten by Smirnov, 72% to 20%.
Presidential elections were held in the breakaway republic of Transnistria on 1 December, 1991. These were the first such elections in the newly founded Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, and were won by Igor Smirnov, one of the country's founders. Smirnov faced two opponents: Grigore Mărăcuţă and Grigoriy Blagodarniy. Mărăcuţă would become an ally of Smirnov and was speaker of the Supreme Council until 2005. According to an article by the ethnic Russian researcher from Moldova Alla Skvortsova from 2002, "polls and elections in the PMR may to some extent have been rigged".
A referendum on the formation of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was held in Transnistria between 1989 and 1990. The first voting took place in Rîbnița on 3 December 1989. In Tiraspol voting was held on 28 January. After the June congress of the local Soviet, voting was held in the districts of Bender, Dubăsari, Sloboza, Camenca and Grigoriopol. The overall total showed 98% voting in favour. The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was declared at the second meeting of the Soviet on 2 September 1990. According to an article by the ethnic Russian researcher from Moldova Alla Skvortsova from 2002, "polls and elections in the PMR may to some extent have been rigged".
A referendum on the withdrawal of Russian troops was held in Transnistria on 27 March 1995 alongside parliamentary elections. Russian troops had been stationed in Transnistria since the Transnistria War. Over 93% of voted in favour of the troops remaining in the territory. According to an article by the ethnic Russian researcher from Moldova Alla Skvortsova from 2002, "polls and elections in the PMR may to some extent have been rigged".
Moldova–Transnistria relations are the political and economic relations between the Republic of Moldova and Transnistria, an unrecognized state between the Dniester River and Ukraine. During the dissolution of the Soviet Union, political tensions in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic led to Transnistria declaring independence from Moldova, culminating in the Transnistrian War of 1992. As part of the ceasefire agreement ending the war, a Joint Control Commission composed of Moldovan, Transnistrian, and Russian forces was established to supervise the demilitarized zone which was located in the Transnistrian region. The Joint Control Commission still supervises the zone, and negotiations to resolve the dispute are ongoing. The negotiations are supported by the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the United States, the European Union, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
