[0]

Anna Volkova, Tiraspol-based historian: "The more people know about us, the harder it'll be to paint us negatively"

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - Anna Volkova Zaharovna is a historian and one of the original organizers of the movement which brought about Pridnestrovie's 1990 declaration of independence.

Following the new country's independence declaration on 2 September 1990, Anna Volkova was elected to the first-ever parliament of the newly formed Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. From 1990 to 1995, she served as a member of parliament, becoming the legislative body's Vice Speaker, and second in command after Speaker and Parliamentary Chairman Grigoriy Marakutsa, an ethnic Moldovan.

On 6 April 2007, under the auspices of the Department of History and Law at the Tiraspol State University, Anna Volkova headed an annual conference which this year was dedicated to the memory of the 15th anniversary of the day Moldovan forces attacked Pridnestrovie; attempting to impose its territorial claim on the unrecognized country. After a moment of silence remembering the more than 1,000 lives lost in the 1992 war, Anna Volkova opened the conference. Here, she talks about the presentations of the conference and says that "We have future - this is evident from our history."

As the chairman of this conference, what can you tell us about it?

" - It is an annual event. It shows the richness of our shared history. The history of our towns and villages, and also of our nation as a whole. This year, it focused on the theme of how we, as a nation, withstood the military attacks by Moldova fifteen years ago. The topics of the reports were very diverse: from the history of of the PMR was formed to the military events of 1992. But there were also presentations about regional issues, the role of women, and other subjects.

It increases the interest of students in the study of the history of the Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica; PMR. The conference is valuable not only for attracting students to research work, but also for its important educational and patriotic aspect.

After we narrowed it down to the interesting presentations, we awarded the speakers with diplomas for first, second and third place. Each of them also received two books: One, authored by Igor Smirnov and called To Live in Our Land, and another, written by myself, about all the referenda which to date have taken place in PMR."

How do you see the prospects for international recognition of PMR and Russia's role in this process?

" - In my opinion, what matters most is that our country is already recognized by its own people. And as long as the population believe in their country, then it has a future. This is the fundation upon which everything else is built.

The role of Russia, as a guarantor country, started in 1992. Today, of course, we hope that the foreign policy of Russia will be different than it was at that time. Wrong perceptions about us had a negative impact on the creation of the image of Pridnestrovie, and indeed a lot depends not only on our media, but also on the foreign media and the image painted there. I think we have not started to use this enormous reserve (the media, ed.).

Many political parties in Pridnestrovie have set, as one of their goals, international recognition of the PMR as an independent state. I believe that the forces of people's diplomacy, which began in 1990, has not been exhausted to the end. For example, strengthening cooperation between youth organizations in Russia, Ukraine, and Pridnestrovie would bring fruitful results. The more people know about us and about the reality of Pridnestrovie, the harder it will be to paint us in a negative light."

How important is the presence of Russian peacekeepers?

" - As vitally important. We are grateful to Russia for the mission which was implemented in 1992. Indeed there is no such equally successful peacekeeping operation anywhere else in the world today. This is the only such operation where not a single peacekeeper has perished."

How do you see the current events in Ukraine unfolding?

" - I am reluctant to comment on events which haven't taken place yet. The current development is still far from reaching its peak. Not even the most eager political commentator could predict what the situation in Ukraine will be like two weeks from now.

But this is an internal matter for the Ukrainian people. Of course I hope that the Ukrainian people won't suffer from these events. Commenting on the prevailing situation in Ukraine I can say that they have a severe situation. A confrontation between two opposite branches of authority. I want to emphasize that in Pridnestrovie, fortunately, we have been able to avoid this sort of fighting throughout all the years we have existed as a state. Some have tried to push and provoke confrontations of this kind, but it never took place.

I think that there can be no winners in the current situation in Ukraine. The situation will continue to worsen. If political ambition could be forgotten, and if everyone would instead just concentrate on the interests of the Ukrainian people, then everything would be different. In any case, I think, it will be necessary for the parties to find a way to negotiate and reach a compromise, because otherwise the situation will just worsen. If it comes to that, and blood is spilled beween the sides, then no political analyst can forecast what will happen next."

See also:
» Yevgeny Shevchuk: "We will work for more and more democratization" [1]