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Let's get crazy! A member of a civil society NGO marks the start of April in Tiraspol civic parade

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - Some thought it was an April Fool's Joke, but it turned out to be a spectacular, colorful street party celebrating the arrival of spring.

On Sunday, youth groups and civil society organizations in Pridnestrovie, also known as Transdniester or Transnistria, took to the streets of the capital in a joyful celebration marking April 1. The clown parade, whose main organizer was Proriv, arrived from several points in the city, converging on Tiraspol's downtown where performers put on a string of shows and acts for the public.

Hundreds of youth showed up in custome, emulating for the first time an April 1 tradition from nearby Odessa, in neighboring Ukraine.

Pro-independence youth activist dancing in the streets of Tiraspol

" - We can do better," said one participant, an ethnic Ukrainian born in Pridnestrovie. "From now on, and every year on April 1, we will put on our own show. Everything we do, we do for us. That is part of being an independent country."

Not recognized internationally, Pridnestrovie has functioned as a de facto independent country for nearly 17 years. The new and emerging state declared independence in September 1990. It meets all the requirements for statehood under international law. International recognition of its independence has stalled while nearby Moldova pursues an unresolved territorial claim.

Located to the east of the Republic of Moldova, between the Dniester River and Ukraine, the Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica (its official name) covers a fixed territory of 4,163 sq km with a total of 816 km of defined, demarcated borders and 555,000 inhabitants. (Photos: PMR News / Lenta PMR)

Inside the heart: A local NGO activist next to members of a grassroots group



Clowning around. On the way to the civic parade in the city center



Spring in Pridnestrovie! Two civil society members in Sunday's parade



1 April 07: Welcoming spring in Tiraspol, the capital of Pridnestrovie



A member of Pridnestrovie's etnic Moldovan minority, born in the PMR



Bringing the boombox, PMR's reigning breakdance gang put on a show



Spectators born in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR)



Clowns and performers dancing through downtown Tiraspol



Pro-independence PMR youth in their new and emerging country



Parades from different NGOs converged into one when they arrived