astutia

Hannah, 18, Political Science major.  Future human rights lawyer. In love with the world, obsessed with trying to figure it out.  On this blog you'll find my analysis of major world events (think Brexit) and places you may not have even heard of (think Transnistria).  I hope you enjoy! (Pro tip: click the little dots for important links!)

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Welcome to Nowhere: Mafia Politics in Transnistria

A statue of Vladimir Lenin stands proudly in front of Transnistria’s Parliament.

You’ve heard of Ukraine.  You’ve heard of Moldova.  But have you heard of Transnistria?  Recognized only by other United Nations pariahs such as Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Transnistria is a disputed strip of land in Eastern Europe that appears to be stuck in time.  During a stroll through the capital of Tiraspol, one finds decades-old statues of Vladimir Lenin, the likes of which once permeated the Soviet Union like polluted air in your lungs. 

 The statues aren’t the only thing that seem out of place in the modern world.  The cars on the poorly constructed roads are outdated, the architecture is crumbling, and contemporary amenities like shopping malls are scarce.  Transnistria declared independence from Moldova in 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union (which caused a bloody, yet to be resolved war – but we’ll get there), yet today clings for dear life to Russia to provide life support.  This role suits Moscow just fine and the Russian government will not seek a resolution to this territorial dispute any time soon for the ongoing military conflict allows Russian soldiers on the ground in the Transnistrian/Moldovan demilitarized city of Bender.  Here Russian soldiers share facilities with Moldovan soldiers and although conflicts often erupt, the political benefit reaped from propping up Transnistria gives Moscow the incentive to turn a blind eye to what’s happening within the state that isn’t a state.  Its unresolved status allows the government to avoid European Union and United Nations and as a result, mafia-style politics have permeated the society for the past twenty-five years.  Gunrunning and contraband are its industries, and its been described as a “heaven” for arms trafficking in the “black hole of Europe”.  So, it’s really no wonder why the quality of life for Transnistrians is so bad.  As a Russian puppet wanna-be state, Transnistria is a Soviet-era artifact that refuses to be a part of the poorest country in Europe, Moldova, but could never breakaway from Russia, its life support that will keep the conflict in purgatory for as long as it serves its interests, and then its every mobster for themselves.