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Korolev, the Minister for Internal Affairs, is Mr. Law and Order in Pridnestrovie

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - He is the chief of police and internal affairs in Pridnestrovie, and despite a lack of international recognition for the country, he manages to keep law and order.

His name is Aleksander Korolev. Born in Wroclaw, Poland in 1955, Aleksander started to work in the Ministry of the Internal Affairs of the extinct MSSR in 1985. There, he was assigned to the city of Bender, today the second-largest city of of Pridnestrovie.

During the breakup of the Soviet Union and the independence of Pridnestrovie, the employee simply stayed in the job: Performing the duties for the citizens of Bender just as he always did. A career civil servant, he stayed in the Ministry until 2000 when he was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs.

As the Minister of Internal Affairs, Aleksander Korolev is today's Pridnestrovie's "top cop": The head of the nation's police force. He takes a stand for law and order, having been able to reduce crime rates drastically since taking office.

Korolev is also a typical example of the multi-ethnic nature of the country which, although small, is home to 35 different nationalities. In his case he represents the community of citizens having been born in Poland. Other minorities also hold high positions in government: There are leaders who were born in Russia, in Ukraine, in Moldova, and elsewhere. Most, however, are local Pridnestrovians from Tiraspol, Rybnitsa, Dubossary, Grigoriopol or some of the other towns and cities of Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica. Many of the leaders are ethnic Moldovans, and as the UN and the OSCE have noted, these ethnic Moldovans are among the strongest defenders of Pridnestrovie's sovereignty and independence.

Pridnestrovie declared independence in 1990. Despite meeting all of the formal requirements for statehood, the new and emerging country has not yet been recognized by the international community.