history

"They beat us up"... 18 years ago, minority members from Pridnestrovie were part of Moldova's Parliament. They ended up in the hospital.

Moldova's 1992 war against Transnistria (Pridnestrovie) was provoked by Romania. This was publicly announced on national TV by Vladimir Voronin, Moldova's President. Romania also supplied troops, financing and weapons to carry out the war.

The 90th anniversary of Moldova’s union with Romania was celebrated in Chisinau on 27 March 2008. Moldova made up part of Romania in the past. Some MPs in Moldova's Parliament now want the country to return to being part of Romania again.

Although the leading cultural influence in Pridnestrovie is Slavic, the country also has a long and rich German component. Its German communities spread to other parts of the former Soviet Union, Europe and even the United States. Now some of them are returning to find their roots in a place that the rest of the world will not allow to have an independent existence.

After Moldova's attack on Transdniestria in 1992, the local population strengthened its struggle for independence. A look back at the roots of the conflict helps provide a glimpse of what the future could bring.

Transdniestria (Pridnestrovie) is an archaeological treasure trove. And scientists at Pridnestrovie's State University say they have much to offer, including their rich archaeological heritage. But the unrecognized status of the country causes international isolation and local frustrations.

As a former autonomous republic in the Soviet Union, Pridnestrovie had a semi-independent status from 1924 to 1940. This changed in 1940 when Stalin took Moldova from Romania and grafted it onto Pridnestrovie. In 1991, when it self-declared its independence, Moldova denounced the merger with Pridnestrovie as illegal.

Tiraspol is getting the streets ready for its 215 year birthday on October 14. The city is today the capital of Pridnestrovie. Always a majority-Slavic city, Tiraspol has never belonged to any independent Moldovan state at any time in history.

At its largest extent, Moldova reached all the way to the Dniester river - but never once did it ever go beyond. Stefan the Great ruled over a ‘Greater’ Moldavia that stretched up to the Dniester. At no time in history did any independent Moldovan state ever include any land on the other side of the Dniester where Pridnestrovie lies today.

Local residents danced in the park as Kamenka celebrated its 399 years birthday. The city in northern Pridnestrovie was long the favorite haunt of Peter Wittgenstein. "Lolita"-author Vladimir Nabokov also played here when he was a kid.