Transnistria

Република Молдовеняскэ Нистрянэ (Republica Moldovenească Nistreană) Приднестрóвская Молдáвская Респýблика (Pridnestrovskaya Moldavskaya Respublika) Придністровська Молдавська Республіка (Pridnistrovs'ka Moldavs'ka Respublika)   Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic
Flag Coat of arms
Capital		Tiraspol
Official languages		Moldovan (only offical in its Cyrillic form), Russian, Ukrainian
Ethnic groups (2005)		32% Moldovans 31% Russians 29% Ukrainians
Government		Internationally unrecognized semi-presidential republic
-	President of the Transnistrian Moldovan Republic	Igor Smirnov
Autonomous territory of the Republic of Moldova that is de facto independent
-	Declaration of Independence	September 2, 1990
-	War of Transnistria	March 2 - July 21, 1992
-	Recognition	none
Area
-	Total	4,163 km²  1,607 sq mi
-	Water (%)	2.35
Population
-	2007 estimate	537,000
-	2004 census	555,347
-	Density	133/km²  345/sq mi
Currency		Transnistrian ruble1 (PRB)
Time zone		EET (UTC+2)
-	Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Internet TLD		none2
Calling code		+373  spec. +373 5 and +373 2
1	Moldovan leu used in the localities under Moldovan control and in the security zone
2	.ru and .md sometimes used.

Transnistria, also known as Trans-Dniester, Transdniestria, and Pridnestrovie (full name: Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic), is a breakaway republic within the internationally recognised borders of Moldova, with the official status of an autonomous territory. It is de jure part of Moldova and it is de facto independent state. It is organised as a presidential republic, with its own government, parliament, military, police, postal system and its own currency. Its authorities have adopted a constitution, flag, a national anthem, and a coat of arms.

Transnistria is located mostly in a strip between the Dniester River and Ukraine. After the dissolution of the USSR, Transnistria declared independence leading to the war with Moldova that started in March 1992 and was concluded by the ceasefire of July 1992. As part of that agreement, a three-party (Russia, Moldova, PMR) Joint Control Commission supervises the security arrangements in the demilitarized zone, comprising 20 localities on both sides of the river. Although the ceasefire has held, the territory's political status remains unresolved, and Transnistria has been de facto independent since that time.

Transnistria is sometimes compared with other post-Soviet frozen conflict zones such as Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia. The latter two since declaring their independence from Georgia after the 2008 South Ossetia war have subsequently recognised Transnistria as an independent state and plan to establish diplomatic relations in return for the recognition of themselves.

Links

• Wikimedia Atlas of Transnistria
• BBC: Profile of Trans-Dniester
• Economist: The black hole that ate Moldova
• OSCE Mission to Moldova
• Radio Free Europe: Transdniester Conflict Was Long In The Making
• Jos Boonstra, "Moldova, Transnistria, and European Democracy Polices", FRIDE, February 2007
• Stuart Hensel, Moldova Strategic Conflict Assessment (SCA), Economist Intelligence Unit.

Local links

• (Russian) "Chelovek i ego Prava" ("Man and his Rights"), local newspaper
• (English)(Romanian)(Russian) Conflict.md, site about the conflict
• (English)(Romanian)(Russian) Moldova Azi: News from Moldova, news portal
• (English)(Romanian)(Russian) Moldova.org, non-governmental country portal
• (English)(Russian) PMR News, English-language news and commentaries
• (English)(Russian) Pridnestrovie.net, official English site of the PMR authorities
• (English)(Romanian)(Russian) Transnistria.md, English-language news and interviews
• (English)(Russian) VisitPMR.com, official tourist information
• (English)(Russian) Website of the Supreme Council (Parliament) of PMR, official site

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.