REPOST: My Journey To A Country That Doesn't Exist (Transnistria)
Jul 13, 2015, 10:48 am
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REPOST: My Journey To A Country That Doesn't Exist (Transnistria)
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The old thread was locked for having a link and no text, so this should comply with FT rules ^
I’ve always been drawn to esoteric destinations. The kind of places that people don’t know are out there, and the kind of places they certainly don’t choose to visit. After traveling to Uzbekistan, Macedonia, Bangladesh and a number of other places that generally get “huh?” as a response from people when I tell them where I’ve been, I set my sights on visiting a country that technically doesn’t exist.
In the waning days of the Soviet Union, unrest began in the eastern part of the Moldavian SSR. The region that today is known as Transnistria, began a low level uprising against the central government in the capital of Chisinau. As the USSR collapsed in 1991, and the Moldavian SSR became the newly independent Republic of Moldova, this conflict intensified. Eventually, the fighting came to a stand still in 1992.
After two years of bitter fighting, both sides laid down their rifles and the situation normalized. As far as the international community, and the government in Chisinau were concerned, the territory of Moldova continued to extend all the way east until the border with Ukraine. While that is the de jure version of events, it doesn’t mesh with the reality
The peaceful status quo that has been allowed to persist since the cessation of open hostilities in 1992 has reinforced this belief within Transnistria, that their claimed independence is legitimate. They maintain their own border controls, elect their own government, print their own money and have their own flag, which is in fact, the flag of the old Moldavian SSR, complete with hammer and sickle. However, they are only recognized as an independent country by other “near countries” like Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
There are no airports or seaports in Transnistria, so my journey began in Chisinau. The Chisinau central bus station, which is more like an open-air tented bazaar has vehicles of all shapes and sizes bound for points foreign and domestic. There are frequent buses plying the short Chisinau to Tiraspol (capital of Transnistria) route, and the best way to find a ride is to show up at the “station,” walk around and look at the plastic signs in the front windows of the cars, buses and cans, indicating where they are bound for.
I speak very limited Russian, so after finding a bus headed for Tiraspol, I feebly attempted to communicate that I didn’t know where to purchase a ticket. A plump old babushka, grabbed my arm and dragged me to a ticket window, where I was able to pay the roughly $2 USD fare.
As the bus barreled on from the main station, through town and out past the airport, I began to wonder what the situation at the border would be like. I had previously read horror stories of foreigners being detained, extorted for huge bribes and refused entry.
I was not surprisingly, the only foreigner on this particular bus. When we arrived at the border, everything looked very official. There was a large checkpoint, smartly uniformed soldiers and a little room for processing entry. Since every other passenger on the bus was Moldovan, they were not subjected to much scrutiny. A quick look at their passport books and the border guards sent them back to the bus. The same babushka that had helped me locate the ticket kiosk in Chisinau, took me into the immigration hut. She seemed very proud to be bringing a foreigner to them. Whether it was due to government anti-corruption crackdowns, or this nice old woman yelling at the immigration officers on my behalf, all the document checks were done in short order and I was very quickly back on the bus and headed for Tiraspol.
Tiraspol is a small city, with a population of just over 100,000. The bus station there is a sturdy concrete building, but to say it is out of the way and devoid of life would be a gross understatement. As I mentioned, I don’t speak very much Russian, and there were no taxis to be seen. I don’t think I really have to say it, but Tiraspol doesn’t have a subway system
After a few minutes, I managed to flag down a car and ask him if it would be possible to get to my hotel. The driver mulled it over for a moment, quoted me a price in Transnistrian rubles, of which I had none, and I readily agreed.
The hotel refused to exchange Moldovan Lei for rubles, but agreed to pay the driver, and add the total to my bill. When I say “hotel,” I should note that there’s nothing approaching proper western standard hotels in Tiraspol, so be prepared to overpay for what you’re getting.
After dropping my bags, I set off for the main artery of Tiraspol, October 25th Street. Almost all of the major tourist attractions are located along this long, tree lined boulevard. Some of the highlights include a statue of the 18th century Russian General Suvarov, in a square that bears his name, a WW2 monument featuring a T-34 tank, eternal flame, and a monument to those killed during the 1990-1992 war and the still functioning building of the Supreme Soviet, which has a huge statue of Lenin in flowing robes standing guard out front
Perhaps 15 minutes further down the street, past some new construction is the Palace of the Soviets, which has a smaller bust of Lenin on a column. Aside from a few museums that keep irregular hours, some of which are only open to Transnistrian citizens, and a MiG-19 mounted on a pedestal in a small park about 10 minutes from the main drag, that’s pretty much all there is to see in Tiraspol.
The appeal of visiting Transnistria, aside from the obvious draw and adventure factor in visiting a breakaway republic and a country that technically doesn’t exist, is that it is considered by many to be the most authentic time capsule of what life looked like during the Soviet Union. While there is a sparkling new modern stadium on the outskirts of town for the local football team FC Sheriff Tiraspol, there aren’t many, if any other places on Earth will you will still see the hammer and sickle flying proudly above a statue of Lenin.
Like many places in the former Soviet space, examining that past highlights why Transnistria is an increasingly important bargaining chip in the current power struggle between Russia and the West.
As Soviet Union collapsed, the population of Transnistria, which is heavily ethnic Russian, wanted to remain as part of the USSR. To this day, Russian peacekeeping troops remain stationed in Transnistria. While Russia has not formally recognized the territory’s independence, they do prop them up.
As mentioned, there are no air or seaports in Transnistria, which has put Russia in a difficult position since the commencement of hostilities in the Ukraine. Prior to that, an overland route through Ukrainian territory was Russia’s primary means of resupplying and replacing their troops stationed in Transnistria.
Now, with overland passage through Western Ukraine impossible, Russia’s only option, is to fly troops into Chisinau, and attempt to gain permission for their transport onwards. This is a source of tension as Moldova is another country being courted by NATO and the West, but still strongly tied to Russia. Concerns over their position in Transnistria, could fuel Russian moves deeper into Western Ukraine, or be used as justification for expansionist moves into Moldova
While a close eye should be kept on the evolving geopolitical situation, this is not reason to avoid visiting. Tiraspol is a sleepy little town, but there is some great history, the people are friendly, and at the very least, you better be sure to bring home some flags as souvenirs.
The old thread was locked for having a link and no text, so this should comply with FT rules ^
I’ve always been drawn to esoteric destinations. The kind of places that people don’t know are out there, and the kind of places they certainly don’t choose to visit. After traveling to Uzbekistan, Macedonia, Bangladesh and a number of other places that generally get “huh?” as a response from people when I tell them where I’ve been, I set my sights on visiting a country that technically doesn’t exist.
In the waning days of the Soviet Union, unrest began in the eastern part of the Moldavian SSR. The region that today is known as Transnistria, began a low level uprising against the central government in the capital of Chisinau. As the USSR collapsed in 1991, and the Moldavian SSR became the newly independent Republic of Moldova, this conflict intensified. Eventually, the fighting came to a stand still in 1992.
After two years of bitter fighting, both sides laid down their rifles and the situation normalized. As far as the international community, and the government in Chisinau were concerned, the territory of Moldova continued to extend all the way east until the border with Ukraine. While that is the de jure version of events, it doesn’t mesh with the reality
The peaceful status quo that has been allowed to persist since the cessation of open hostilities in 1992 has reinforced this belief within Transnistria, that their claimed independence is legitimate. They maintain their own border controls, elect their own government, print their own money and have their own flag, which is in fact, the flag of the old Moldavian SSR, complete with hammer and sickle. However, they are only recognized as an independent country by other “near countries” like Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
There are no airports or seaports in Transnistria, so my journey began in Chisinau. The Chisinau central bus station, which is more like an open-air tented bazaar has vehicles of all shapes and sizes bound for points foreign and domestic. There are frequent buses plying the short Chisinau to Tiraspol (capital of Transnistria) route, and the best way to find a ride is to show up at the “station,” walk around and look at the plastic signs in the front windows of the cars, buses and cans, indicating where they are bound for.
I speak very limited Russian, so after finding a bus headed for Tiraspol, I feebly attempted to communicate that I didn’t know where to purchase a ticket. A plump old babushka, grabbed my arm and dragged me to a ticket window, where I was able to pay the roughly $2 USD fare.
As the bus barreled on from the main station, through town and out past the airport, I began to wonder what the situation at the border would be like. I had previously read horror stories of foreigners being detained, extorted for huge bribes and refused entry.
I was not surprisingly, the only foreigner on this particular bus. When we arrived at the border, everything looked very official. There was a large checkpoint, smartly uniformed soldiers and a little room for processing entry. Since every other passenger on the bus was Moldovan, they were not subjected to much scrutiny. A quick look at their passport books and the border guards sent them back to the bus. The same babushka that had helped me locate the ticket kiosk in Chisinau, took me into the immigration hut. She seemed very proud to be bringing a foreigner to them. Whether it was due to government anti-corruption crackdowns, or this nice old woman yelling at the immigration officers on my behalf, all the document checks were done in short order and I was very quickly back on the bus and headed for Tiraspol.
Tiraspol is a small city, with a population of just over 100,000. The bus station there is a sturdy concrete building, but to say it is out of the way and devoid of life would be a gross understatement. As I mentioned, I don’t speak very much Russian, and there were no taxis to be seen. I don’t think I really have to say it, but Tiraspol doesn’t have a subway system
After a few minutes, I managed to flag down a car and ask him if it would be possible to get to my hotel. The driver mulled it over for a moment, quoted me a price in Transnistrian rubles, of which I had none, and I readily agreed.
The hotel refused to exchange Moldovan Lei for rubles, but agreed to pay the driver, and add the total to my bill. When I say “hotel,” I should note that there’s nothing approaching proper western standard hotels in Tiraspol, so be prepared to overpay for what you’re getting.
After dropping my bags, I set off for the main artery of Tiraspol, October 25th Street. Almost all of the major tourist attractions are located along this long, tree lined boulevard. Some of the highlights include a statue of the 18th century Russian General Suvarov, in a square that bears his name, a WW2 monument featuring a T-34 tank, eternal flame, and a monument to those killed during the 1990-1992 war and the still functioning building of the Supreme Soviet, which has a huge statue of Lenin in flowing robes standing guard out front
Perhaps 15 minutes further down the street, past some new construction is the Palace of the Soviets, which has a smaller bust of Lenin on a column. Aside from a few museums that keep irregular hours, some of which are only open to Transnistrian citizens, and a MiG-19 mounted on a pedestal in a small park about 10 minutes from the main drag, that’s pretty much all there is to see in Tiraspol.
The appeal of visiting Transnistria, aside from the obvious draw and adventure factor in visiting a breakaway republic and a country that technically doesn’t exist, is that it is considered by many to be the most authentic time capsule of what life looked like during the Soviet Union. While there is a sparkling new modern stadium on the outskirts of town for the local football team FC Sheriff Tiraspol, there aren’t many, if any other places on Earth will you will still see the hammer and sickle flying proudly above a statue of Lenin.
Like many places in the former Soviet space, examining that past highlights why Transnistria is an increasingly important bargaining chip in the current power struggle between Russia and the West.
As Soviet Union collapsed, the population of Transnistria, which is heavily ethnic Russian, wanted to remain as part of the USSR. To this day, Russian peacekeeping troops remain stationed in Transnistria. While Russia has not formally recognized the territory’s independence, they do prop them up.
As mentioned, there are no air or seaports in Transnistria, which has put Russia in a difficult position since the commencement of hostilities in the Ukraine. Prior to that, an overland route through Ukrainian territory was Russia’s primary means of resupplying and replacing their troops stationed in Transnistria.
Now, with overland passage through Western Ukraine impossible, Russia’s only option, is to fly troops into Chisinau, and attempt to gain permission for their transport onwards. This is a source of tension as Moldova is another country being courted by NATO and the West, but still strongly tied to Russia. Concerns over their position in Transnistria, could fuel Russian moves deeper into Western Ukraine, or be used as justification for expansionist moves into Moldova
While a close eye should be kept on the evolving geopolitical situation, this is not reason to avoid visiting. Tiraspol is a sleepy little town, but there is some great history, the people are friendly, and at the very least, you better be sure to bring home some flags as souvenirs.
Sep 25, 2017, 12:37 am
#3
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 165
transnistria now a hotspot?
I'm based on the UK and an transnistria tour agency has just started. found this on reddit, don't know about prices. Looks random.