The story of a wanna-be country

Once upon a time, there was a land called Transnistria, which wanted to become a country.

Transnistria is the main reason why we came to Moldova. These are the shocking facts we discovered from our online research:

1) Transnistria is a is a state located on a strip of land between the River Dniester and the eastern Moldovan border with Ukraine.

 

2) Because of its location, this land has historically had tighter bonds with Russia.

3) During the Soviet Union times, their were no issues. It was only when the union broke up that all East European countries claimed lands, borders and rivers that they historically owned. This was the time for Transnistria to speak up.

4) In 1989 Moldova declared itself a republic and established a strong relationship with Romania, hoping that this relationship would lead it to become a EU member. Transnistria refused by declaring itself independent in 1990, with Russia’s support. This declaration led to a civil war in 1992, lasting only three months. Moldova didn’t have enough funds to continue the war.

5) Transnistria has never been recognised internationally as a country, not even by Russia.

6) It has built Customs borders with Moldova and Ukraine. It has its own police force and it has declared Russian as their official language.

7) Travellers are allowed to stay in the country for 10 hours. If you intend to extend your staying beyond you have to register with the migration department.

8) Transnistria has even issued its own currency, valueless outside its territory. It is not available at ATMs. You can change your Euros, Dollars or Moldovan Lei  on the black market. This being subject to speculation.

9) The UK government website warns people they travel to Transnistria at their own risk. UK citizens must avoid getting in trouble with the police, as there is little that UK Embassy can do for them.

10) Travellers have occasionally suffered bribes at the border on their way out of the country. Most likely for non-existent reasons, such as having broken the speed law. Of course, the money the travellers had eventually paid to leave the country has always ended up in the police pockets.

11) You can get to Transnistria with your own car, by bus and by train. Buses and trains from Moldova only stop at the capital: Tiraspol.

 

This all sounded mysterious and sinister. Would we be entering a brand new place which we have never seen before? That would be exciting. I start to feel butterflies in my stomach.

We found Transnistria Tour, a touring company which offered themed tours for €25. We booked the classical tour, which would take us around the countryside. That would allow us to see a bit more of this non-country within the 10 hours we have available. We arranged for them to meet us at the bus station at 11.00am.

We pick up the 9.00 am bus from Chisinau. Buses to Tiraspol depart every twenty minutes. So it looks like a demanded service.

We get to the border at 10.30 am. We all must get off the bus and walk to Customs. We take photos of each Customs border, but I better not take any of this one.

We waited patiently at the queue.

Officer: What are you doing in Transistria?

Me: We have only come for a few hours to do a tour. I replied with an angel face

We are given a migration card.

Officer: You have to leave the country by 20.00.

Me: Yes, sir.

We arrived at the bus station at 11.05am. Andrey, from Transnistria Tour was waiting for us. He gives us a warm welcome.

Andrey: First things first. Before we start the tour, let’s take you to change your money and, more importantly, get a cold drink…

We changed our Moldovan Lei in a Bureau of Exchange office.

Me: What is the exchange rate and when was the last time it was updated?

Andrey: It is 1:2 to Moldovan Lei and it has not moved for two years.

So none of this nonsense of having to deal with dodgy people at the back of the street and pay disproportionate amount of money for a few Transnistrian rubbles.

We started to ask lots of questions about Transnistria.

We will tell you all about it during the tour says Andrey animously.

We drive to the countryside and cross the river.

Us: Andrey, If Russian has always supported Transnistria, why does it not recognise it?

Andrey: They are all playing a political game. In summary:

Moldova wants to be part of the EU and wants to bring Transnistria with them.

Transnistria wants to be part of Russia.

Russia does not want to lose control over this area.

Russia uses Transnistria to prevent Moldova from pursuing its western dream.

All rubbish but nonetheless interesting. We never understood why Moldova does not give up on Transnistria. It has nothing to offer. And of course it is not a question for Andrey to answer.

It is our turn to cross the river.

The ferry takes up to ten cars and it is run manually, incredible!

It just uses the flow of the river to pull it across.

Quite a wide river.

We drive and stop at the first monument, some sort of cultural centre with the a statue of Mr Lenin, who is so loved by the Transnistrians.

We are allowed to take a picture of this building. However, there are two monuments in Tiraspol which are banned from photographs: The Governments Parliament and and the KBG buildings. Never mind, we will look at them on Google Earth, which, interestingly, they have managed to break this rule and get away with it.

We move on to the next monument. This tour is fascinating, not so much for the statues and memorials but for how much we are learning about this non-country.

Apparently, bribes at the border have stopped since the current prime minister won the elections, two years ago. This is good for the country. By imposing such controls, they demonstrate to the rest of the world that they can be trusted. And, as a by-product they attract more tourists.

However, he admits that the country has high levels of corruption internally.

Where often people pay small bribes rather than proper fines to the police, they justify this by saying the police are poorly paid. GDR

“I know it is bad.” he says

We approach a monastery, the oldest in Transnistria.

The complex is formed by five churches

which were used as hospitals during the Soviet Union era and brought them back to its original use in 1992. I must admit I agreed with the communists on this one. They got more out of them by using them as hospitals .

A sixth building sits aside, where the forty monks live.

They live mainly off the land.

And they probably live quite well. They have hectares of land around them.

Undoubtedly they love their tomatoes.

The place is well maintained, clean, with good quality roads to access it.

Because the patriarch of the Orthodox church who lives in Russia came to visit this place in 1992.

Never mind if the infrastructure of the rest of the country suffers. As long as the monastery can be easily accessible…

It is 13.30, time for lunch. We get back to Tiraspol and pop in in a pizzeria. We are not impressed by the choice, but he maybe thought it was an easy one, who doesn’t like pizza (us??).

We didn’t have pizza by the way, Susana had salad, I had the local special menu, very nice. GDR

During lunch, we mainly talked about business. Andrey is new in the tourist industry. He gave up his job a couple of years ago as an IT consultant to set up this company. Although he is the only travel tour company in Transnistria, he still has to face strong competition from the Moldovan companies. To make a difference, he is trying to come up with other tour ideas such as visiting a shoe factory, where the visitors can get familiar with Transnistrian systems and work methods. That is his challenge; he is going to have to be creative, the country does not offer that much to the tourist, I am afraid.

But we have the impression that he is also using his company to make people aware of Transnistria and its political situation. His knowledge and passion when he talks reveal he is an independentist. We are indeed taking back with us, not only historical facts, but also people’s sentiments and emotions. Thanks to him, we have got to understand this marginalised wanna-be country a bit better.

But stop talking, we must continue our tour. There is only one sight left to see, the fortress.

Well preserved. Is this a real cannon ball? I never got to ask.

The history of the fortress collected in bible-like style. This fortress belongs technically to Russia, he has fought so fiercely for it throughout history. Andrey seems more Russian than Putin.

Transnistria is a pretty flat country. No hills, no mountains, we would get bored here.

The Russian eagle. Interestingly other countries still keep it on their flags, such as Albania.

There is not a great deal left, only the courtyard and the towers. All the restoration works have been carried out over the last twenty years. Surely funded by Russia, it is his fortress after all…

Not sure about the quality or the authenticity of the restoration. A steel structure supports the new factory made tiles making up the roofs of the towers. I am not even sure these would have roofs, would they? GDR

A giant crossbow.

And finally, we get to the top. How far of the non-country can we see from up here? What a surprise, a church.

An aerial view of the castle.

And military tanks storage. I take a photo. Suddenly I have a terrible thought. Would I be arrested at the border?  See you in prison, says Gary sympathetically.

Transnistria shares border with Ukraine. And it also shares hatred. West Ukraine loathes Russia, Transnistria loves it. Geopolitical issues are so fascinating.

Our three hours tour has turn up to be three and a half, we have asked too many questions.

Andrey drops us in the centre. Enjoy your wander around the town. Don’t forget not to take pictures of the Parliament and the KGB building. Other than that, you can freely walk around everywhere.

We thank him for such an amazing talk. 

It is funny, now that he is gone, I feel unprotected and vulnerable; I put my camera away when I don’t use it, in case the army accused me of having taken controversial photos; I look around fearfully; I avoid keeping eye contact with the police…

This wasn’t taken by us, but is freely available to view online. Me thinks the Transnistrian Government is fighting a losing battle with that one. How do you know if someone is taking a photo or making a call! Mr Lenin is looking rather elegant, don’t you think? GDR

Shame the history museum is closed today.

We walk along the river. Transnistria does not have access to the sea. That has not stopped them from building a beach by the river. Everybody is out for a swim today.

The city is incredibly quiet. Over 100,000 habitants live here. This is only slightly bigger than my hometown, Talavera de la Reina.

There isn’t much to do here, really. It is 16.00, we may as well get the bus back. It would still take us a couple of hours to get home.

We still have a few Transnistrian rubbles left. We pop in the supermarket to get a chilled drink.

The bus tickets back to Moldova are double the price. Perhaps, this is the bribe we have to pay to get out of the country.

We had no issues crossing the border. The police frontier has got on the bus and collected our migration cards. They have not even bother to check passports.

Impressions

This may hurt Transnistrians but their non-country does not differ from Moldova.

It is certainly overrated by the guides. A few more communists statutes, Russian peacemakers tanks parked at the border and absurd rules such as banning photographs don’t make it unique. I guess that, in a way, it is not in Transnistria best interest to scare tourists. On the other hand, by becoming a safer country, Transnistria will certainly lose its appeal.

SM

Our guide promised a strange abstract place, where the flowers were planted with military precision. What we found could have been any rural town in Romania, Bulgaria or Moldova, they have just kept the communist statues. I do hope they achieve their independence, although fear for them under Putin.

Apparently they owe Russia €3m for unpaid gas bills, “We will pay them with loyalty”, says Andrey, “we just want to be part of Russia.”

I think they may prefer the rubbles!

Bring back the bribes I say, that differentiated the wanna be country. GDR