Tiraspol | |||||||||||
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 Satellite imagery of Tiraspol airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Location | Tiraspol | ||||||||||
| Time zone | +2 (EET) | ||||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | +3 (EEST) | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 118 ft / 36 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 46°52′21″N29°35′04″E / 46.87250°N 29.58444°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  Tiraspol Location of the airport in Transnistria  Tiraspol Location of the airport in Moldova  Tiraspol Location of the airport in Europe | |||||||||||
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Tiraspol Airport [a] ( ICAO : LUTR) is an airport located in Tiraspol. [1] It previously served as a military air base. [2]
Until 1989, it was used as a military airfield of the Soviet Air Forces. In 1991, work began on converting the airfield into a commercial airport, which would be the largest in Transnistria. These works were suspended due to the lack of funding and the political unsettledness of the status of Transnistria, which did not allow the customs and border services of the Republic of Moldova to be located at the airport and, consequently, to fly outside the country. Nevertheless, during the reconstruction of Chișinău International Airport in 1999–2000, the Tiraspol Airport was used to carry out regular flights, for which, according to the temporary scheme, the presence of the registration and customs-border service of Chișinău International Airport was organized at the Tiraspol Airport.
Until 2012, car races were held at the airfield. [3] The airfield was used for training before the 2 September and 9 May parades. [4]
In October 2012, then Transnistrian President Yevgeny Shevchuk announced his intention to create a civilian airport in Tiraspol on the territory of a military airfield. [5] The head of the delegation of the State Duma of Russia, Sergei Gavrilov, confirmed that the reconstruction would be paid with funds provided by Russia. [6] [7] In the same year, the runway was restored before the arrival of Russian military specialists. [8]
On October 23, 2012, a Russian Antonov An-72 aircraft landed in Tiraspol, marking the first flight since 1998. On October 25, 2012, the aircraft flew to Chișinău. [9]
On May 10, 2016, Transnistrian President Shevchuk confirmed the intention to transform the Tiraspol airfield into a civilian airport, but indicated that "neither Moldova nor Ukraine are ready to give the appropriate permissions to transit through their territory or turn around through their territory." [10]
Following an attack on the security ministry building earlier in the same day, at 23:30 on 25 April 2022, the airport was attacked from the air, possibly by a drone strike; two explosives had been dropped on the air base of the airport. The windows and hood of a ZIL-131 truck were damaged. [11] There also were reports on that day that a military unit of the Armed Forces of Transnistria had been attacked near Parcani. [12] The Transnistrian authorities did not officially confirm the explosions in the Tiraspol Airport, which were initially reported by Moldova. [13] It was later clarified that both reports referred to the same event at the air base in Tiraspol. [14] [15]
On March 17, unknown actors launched a drone at Tiraspol airbase, with a video being released of an attack on a stationary Mi-8 helicopter, and subsequent pictures of what appears to be wreckage of a helicopter. [16] [17] Transnistrian sources claimed that the attack was backed by Ukraine, while the Moldovan Bureau of Reintegration stated that the helicopter that was struck had not flown in years. The Russian Ministry of Foreign affairs spokesperson claimed that the strike was by Ukrainian forces to cause panic among Russian voters. [18] The attack came amidst ongoing tensions between Russia and Moldova over Transnistria. [19] [20]
Tiraspol is the capital and largest city of Transnistria, a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the third-largest city. The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River. Tiraspol is a regional hub of culture, economy, tourism, and light industry, such as furniture and electrical goods production.
Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a landlocked 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.
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 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 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.
The mass media of Transnistria, the breakaway territory within the borders of Moldova, features both state-owned or supported outlets and opposition media. Publications are in Russian, with a single newspaper in each of the other two official languages, Moldovan (Romanian), and Ukrainian.
Public holidays in Transnistria lists the official public holidays recognized by the breakaway Transnistrian government. On these days, government offices, offices of foreign missions and some shops, are closed. If the date of observance falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday will be a day off in lieu of the holiday.
The coat of arms of Tiraspol is the official coat of arms of the city of Tiraspol. Tiraspol is the capital of Transnistria, an unrecognized breakaway republic internationally recognized as part of Moldova. Since 2018, two coats of arms of the city are used: the original imperial one and the Soviet one.
Official statistics of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, or Transnistria, show that 91 percent of the Transnistrian population adhere to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, with 4 percent adhering to the Catholic Church. Roman Catholics are mainly located in Northern Transnistria, a region with a notable Polish minority.
Parcani is a large commune and village in the Slobozia District of Transnistria, a de facto independent entity within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova. The village has a population of around 10,500, of whom 95% are ethnic Bulgarians. The first Bulgarian colonists arrived in the village in the early 19th century. According to some sources, it is the largest Bulgarian-majority village outside the borders of Bulgaria. A monument to Bulgarian national hero Vasil Levski was unveiled in Parcani in September 2008.
The Armed Forces of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic are the military forces of the unrecognized state of Transnistria. The Armed Forces fall under the leadership of the Ministry of Defence. The Armed Forces were created on 6 September 1991 to maintain the sovereignty and independence of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, in accordance with Article 11 of the Republic's Constitution.
The Operational Group of Russian Forces in Transnistria is a sizable overseas military task force of the Russian Armed Forces. It serves as part of the tri-lateral Joint Control Commission (JCC) in the region with around 350 soldiers provided to the JCC.
Vadim Nikolayevich Krasnoselsky is a Transnistrian politician who is the 3rd and current President of Transnistria. Previously, he served as a member of the Supreme Council of Transnistria from the 7th district, as 6th Speaker of the Supreme Council (2015–2016) and the 7th Minister of the Interior.
Republic Day also known in the West as Independence Day or National Day is the main state holiday in the self-proclaimed republic of Transnistria. This date is celebrated annually on September 2.
Oleg Olegovich Khorzhan was a Transnistrian politician who served as the chairman of the Transnistrian Communist Party and as a member of Transnistria's Supreme Council.
The 2022 Transnistria attacks were a series of five incidents reported in the Eastern European breakaway state of Transnistria, internationally recognized as part of Moldova, that occurred in 2022 between 25 and 27 April, on 6 May and on 5 June. No casualties were reported, but material damage did occur.
Events in the year 2022 in Transnistria.
Viktor Anatolievich Gushan is a Transnistrian businessman and former KGB officer with Moldovan, Russian and Ukrainian citizenship.
Roman Yevgenyevich Konoplev is a Russian and Transnistrian political and public figure, strategist, publicist, writer, now resident in Portugal.
Monument to Suvorov is a monument to Russian generalissimo Alexander Suvorov located on the Suvorov Square in Tiraspol, capital city of the unrecognized country of Transnistria. According to the director of the Tiraspol United Museum Alla Melnichuk, this monument is considered one of the best artistic monuments to Suvorov in the territory of the former USSR.
On 31 December 2024, at 19:50 EET, Moldova's unrecognized breakaway region of Transnistria stopped receiving natural gas supplies from Russia when Ukraine's gas transit deal with Russia expired. Historically, Transnistria had covered most of Moldova's electricity needs through the Cuciurgan power station, which functioned with Russian gas supplied to Transnistria for free. However, with the termination of Russian gas supplies to Transnistria and the end of Moldovan purchases of Transnistrian electricity, the possibility of a humanitarian crisis in Transnistria has arisen, which could even lead to the collapse of the breakaway state and its reintegration into Moldova.