The Whole Wide World is Mine.

I try to live a life with meaning.

[classycookiexo]

[its-where-the-wild-things-are]

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

“The life in front of you is way more important than the life behind you.”

— onlinecounsellingcollege.com

[niicol]

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

“Stop letting people who do so little for you control so much of your mind and emotions.”

— Will Smith

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

“It’s all about falling in love with yourself and sharing that love with someone who appreciates you, rather than looking for love to compensate for a self love deficit.”

— Eartha Kitt

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

“No-one will love you exactly the way you want them to. You just have to let them do their best.”

— Unknown

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask yourself if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.”

— Deepak Chopra

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

“Actually, I just woke up one day and decided I didn’t want to feel like that anymore, or ever again. so I changed. Just like that.”

— curiano.com

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

“Being a good person does not mean putting up with other people’s crap.”

— LifeAdvancer.com

[songs-of-the-east]

 Transnistria

Photographed by Anton Polyakov

As the Soviet Union broke up and Moldova became an independent state, the small section known as Transnistria, where Russian is the dominant language and pro-Russian sentiment prevails, sought to break away. In 1992, Moldova decided to regain Transnistria as an independent state and started a military conflict. The conflict was stopped by Russia, entering the region with their troops and engaging a peacemaking mission. Despite its non-recognition, Transnistria is now a presidential republic. It has its legislative and executive authority, state border and army, its own constitution, flag, emblem and anthem. The citizens of Transnistria have their own currency and passports, although nowhere except in Transnistria are they not valid. For the past twenty-seven years, the people of Transnistria, a region spanning approximately 125 by 20 miles, have lived in a frozen state. During this time, a new generation was formed and I belong to it.

My story is built around the simple Transnistrians and their daily lives. These are people of different generations and epochs, residents of urban and rural areas. They belong to various nations and cultures. As Transnistria have always been a borderline region, it can be compared to “the melting pot”, where Russians, Moldovans, Ukrainians and dozens of other ethnic groups have lived together for several centuries, and nowadays form the community named “Transnistrians”. I wanted to show the real people hidden under the label of “the non-existent country”, that managed to adapt to the complicated political situation and to the life in country, recognized only by them.

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

“One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now.”

— Paulo Coelho

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

“Despite how open, peaceful, and loving you attempt to be, people can only meet you as deeply as they’ve met themselves.”

— Matt Kahn

[onlinecounsellingcollege]

“One of the best lessons you can master in life is to master how to remain calm.”

— Unknown

[igmakeup]

[bookmania]

This is absolutely stunning!

[bookmania]

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” ~ Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Color Purple

[wanderlusting-forever]

Chisinau, Moldova