Ever heard of Transnistria?

Before researching Moldova for my Eastern European course in university, I hadn’t either. And that may very well be because—according to the United Nations and every other government in the world—Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria is a country that doesn’t exist.

Where (and What) is Transnistria?

Transnistria is a little strip of land about 20km wide that fought fiercely for its independence from Moldova after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Though nobody takes it seriously, Transnistria remains adamant about its place in the world. The territory has its own currency, its own police force, its own border control and its own flag.

Yet, no other government in the world (save for those of Abkhazia and South Osetia in Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh in Armenia) acknowledges its existence.

Historically, ethnically, politically and geographically (by the Dniestr River), Moldova and Transnistria have been somewhat divided. In 1924, the Soviet Union annexed the territory of Transnistria and created the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as a gateway to colonizing the remainder of Bessarabia from Romania.

As a result of intense Russification, Transnistria is made up of about one third ethnic Russians and allegiances have swayed strongly to the East. And today, Transnistria hopes to uphold the ideals of the Soviet Union. It has imported politicians from Russia and is led by Kamchatka-born, Igor Smirnov. In fact, nearly half of Transnistria’s politicians are from the former Soviet Union and have been trying to recreate the past on this tiny strip of land.

As a result, many have deemed Transnistria as the “Last Bastion of the Soviet Union” or “the Largest Soviet Open-Air Museum.”

• Transnistria Travel Logistics

We decided to travel to this peculiar zone primarily out of curiosity. I was intrigued by the idea of visiting an area of the world that remained largely back in the Soviet era.

To reach Transnistria, we took a bus directly from Chisinau to Tiraspol. It only took about an hour and a half, including the border crossing.

Though the Transnistria/Moldova border is unrecognized by the world at large, travelers must show their passports or ID cards to gain entry into the territory. The crossing was relatively straightforward for us. After we showed our passports, we were given a free entry permit valid for 45 days.

Once across the border, we exchanged enough money to last us the day. Since  no other country in the world recognizes Transnistria’s currency, however, we made sure to only only exchange small increments at a time.

Tiraspol: Transnistria’s Capital City

Though there isn’t much to see in Tiraspol, the capital of Transnistria is a fascinating place to visit. The city’s main drag is like a live display case of Soviet architecture, with its tall, concrete buildings and imposing statues. If nothing else, visiting Tiraspol offers a window into the past–a past where statues of Lenin and propaganda billboards line the streets.

Perhaps the most interesting collection of monuments in Tiraspol is the tribute to martyrs of Transnistria’s fight for independence from Moldova. I did not know what to make of the memorial. It was just so strange. A military tank stood on an elevated platform with its cannon pointed toward a gold-domed chapel.On the same square there was an eternal flame and a memorial wall that commemorated the fallen soldiers. The memorial was adorned with fresh flowers and heavily guarded by military personnel. The air around the entire place felt sterile and eerie.

 

In truth, however, Transnistria is a far cry from Communist Russia. I couldn’t help but notice the fancy cars and trendy styles of Tiraspol’s residents. People strutted around in designer clothes and dined in restaurants along the city’s main drag. It was a lifestyle seemingly a bit at odds with the city itself.

One of the first things I saw that took me by surprise was a young boy posing in front of a fountain with a rifle, as his mother took pictures. Nobody else seemed to find it peculiar at all. I kept wondering how this could be possible—how I could still be in Europe and witnessing such things. It was quite telling of why Moldova is not even under consideration to be part of the European Union.

The post Traveling to Transistria: The Country that Doesn’t Exist appeared first on Erika's Travels .

Last Spring, I took a course called Ethnicity and Nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe because I felt as though, despite my familiarity with the area as a tourist, I knew next to nothing about its history.

In the course, we studied the ethnic makeup of the countries, their postwar histories and life before and after Communism. The class gave me an informative, sweeping history of the area that served as a reference point during much of my trip. The course also gave me the opportunity to study one particular country of the region in-depth. I chose Moldova.

Though an unlikely country to focus on when studying Europe beyond the Iron Curtain, I chose Moldova precisely because I felt it would be overlooked by my peers and by the syllabus. Little did I know that the tiny country that lies between the Prut and Dniestr River would hold such a fascinating and turbulent history that could shed light on many of the tensions that are still present in the region.

Moldova has, for years, been caught in a tug-of-war between East and West, between Romania and Russia. Its history has been shaped by foreigners—those who came to stay and those who merely saw it as a buffer zone between two spheres of ideology.

Mention Moldova and those who have heard of the country will probably point to its poverty, its lack of significant tourist attractions and its reputation as one of the world’s leading producers of prostitutes and human organs. The poorest country in Europe is, in many ways, a far cry from its neighbors with their posh cafes, dazzling monuments and influx of tourists.

I saw a stark contrast between Romania and little Moldova. Whereas in Romania most roads are paved, in Moldova we saw little more than dirt tracks leading between houses.

Even the road we took from Iasi to Chisinau was so full of potholes that the journey took nearly four hours to drive 100 km. The fields, too, were different. Romania is a land of rolling green hills and fertile pastures. Moldova contained little more than sunflower fields and gently rolling plains, painted yellow in the summer sun.

I immediately felt disoriented after stepping out of the bus in the central station of Chisinau, for I had been to Europe nearly every year of my life and I had never seen such a dizzying clamor of people on the continent. The Central Bus Station in Chisinau has been engulfed and overrun by a central market that brings swarms of people to areas in and around the terminal. It is packed with people selling fruits, vegetables, clothing and household utensils.

After finally fighting through the crowd at the market, we began walking toward the hotel that our 2004 Lonely Planet guide recommended. Of course we should have known that going with an eight year old guidebook would practically be like going without one at all, but I think we didn’t really realize that until arriving in Moldova.

The first hotel we searched for near the bus station had been out of business for five years. The second was vacant too. As was the
third. Finally, we asked a someone on the street where we would possibly be able to find a place to stay for the night and she pointed to a six story concrete, Soviet monstrosity.

Evidently, tourism in Moldova is a rather nonexistent concept. There are fewer than 20,000 foreign visitors to the country yearly and most are likely people transiting from Romania to Russia. In fact, in our three days in the country, I never saw another tourist—only a group of Mormon missionaries.Tired and ready to put down our bags, we walked to the massive structure and checked in. The receptionist looked at us quizzically, as though seeing American tourists was a bit out of the ordinary.

Curiously enough, though there were very few tourists in the country, I found Chisinau’s main drag to be chalk-full of currency exchange offices. How all these offices receive business, I do not know. Perhaps they were just remnants of Soviet inefficiency.

I found Moldova to be a place of contradictions. Chisinau was at once squalid and vibrant, poor and trendy, a place that holds leftovers of the Soviet Union, yet looks toward the future with a visible air of capitalism. It is a place where chaos and desperation mix with sophistication and style.We spent a day in Chisinau, strolling its tree-lined avenues and people-watching in its shaded central parks. It is a relatively green city, despite the omnipresent grey of the Soviet high-rises. The city is surprisingly pleasant, too. Though it is lacking in tourist sites, it does have a vibrant atmosphere and plenty of nightlife.

Unfortunately, WWII destroyed much of Chisinau’s historic center and, today, few monuments remain as a testament to the city’s history.After exploring Chisinau for a day, we prepared ourselves for a daytrip across the Driestr River and, consequently, for a voyage back to the USSR.

The post Is This Still Europe? Visiting Chisinau, Moldova appeared first on Erika's Travels .