My gosh, I really don’t know what it is about Pridnestrovie (aka PMR aka “Transnistria”), but it does seem to cause a lot of powerful Americans to want to commit mass murder against everyone who lives here, all in the name of “proving” something to Russia.

As I have documented before, the lunatic American general Ben Hodges regularly masturbates over “war games” that would result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in PMR.

Now, he’s found common cause with the psychopath John Bolton, who wrote an article just a few days ago in which he calls for all-out war against Russia, which somehow includes the “elimination” of Pridnestrovie:

NATO should begin unraveling the “frozen conflicts” and other entanglements Russia has imposed on prospective new NATO members.

One case that should be a priority is eliminating the Trans-Dniester Republic, an artificial entity entirely dependent politically on Russia. Pressuring Moscow for the full reunification of Moldova would divert Putin’s attention from Ukraine.

Where to begin?

First of all, the issues of the other “frozen conflicts” and their respective “recognized” nations in places like (the Republic of) Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan are completely different than the situation between Moldova and PMR.

There hasn’t been a shot fired between Moldova and PMR in almost thirty years, so, if it’s a “frozen” conflict, it now has frost burns.

Secondly, there is zero chance of Moldova joining NATO, even if every single person in Pridnestrovie were raptured tomorrow. Moldovan culture and society is firmly against military alliances, and the country’s neutral status is enshrined in the Constitution.

Third, Pridnestrovie is not home just to Russians, or Russian-speakers, or Russian citizens (not always the same thing), but to tens of thousands of Bulgarians, Poles, Ukrainians, and Gagauz, to say nothing of Moldovans. Does “eliminating” PMR also mean killing them as well?

Fourth, how, exactly, does Bolton think that PMR (or the “Trans-Dniester Republic” to use his antiquated language) is going to be “eliminated”? Some kind of assault by the Moldovan army?

There are probably fewer than a hundred people in Moldova who have enough hatred towards Tiraspol that they’d be willing to launch an armed assault and kill tens of thousands of civilians in order to “re-integrate” PMR back into Moldova. Sure, plenty of Moldovans dislike the Tiraspol government, but almost nobody wants to risk their life for such an awful bloodbath.

Furthermore, of course, PMR has its own army, and nobody here in Pridnestrovie wants to be invaded at gunpoint, so there would be some hard-fought battles indeed before PMR could be “eliminated.”

Frankly, about the only way for PMR to be “eliminated” by force would be if bigger, more powerful states such as Romania, Ukraine, the United States, and the European Union intervened, which would pretty much ignite another world war.

So yeah, John Bolton is an idiot.

One Friend Remaining

My guess is that a grand total of zero people reading this are fans of John Bolton.

On the “left,” Bolton has always been abhorrent due to his role in the George Bush administration and the attack on Iraq two decades ago. And on the “right,” President Trump himself hired and then fired Bolton after calling him [Bolton] an idiot, so Bolton has few friends left in either ideological camp.

He does have one good friend left, however, and that is the current President of Moldova, Maia Sandu.

Still proudly displayed on the Moldovan government’s website is this disgusting paeon to Bolton (in English!) from when then-PM Sandu met with him back in 2019:

The premier [Sandu] noted the government’s determination in the implementation of structural reforms and expressed gratitude to the USA, a strategic partner for our country.

Another issue was related to strengthening and modernizing the security and defense sector, which has a direct impact on ensuring independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Moldova. US assistance in modernizing the security and defense sector reaches about 15 million dollars annually.

Yes, that’s dear old Sandu thanking Bolton for sending 15 million dollars’ worth of military assistance to help Moldova “ensure its territorial integrity.”

With no shame whatsoever, Bolton then told this to the press after his meeting with Sandu:

“There are real [security] challenges in the region and outside the region. The United States believes very strongly in the sovereignty and independence of Moldova. It’s up to its citizens to decide what its future will be, not to outside influences.

Yep, nothing says independence from “outside influences” like taking 15 million bucks a year in bribe money!

Chicu For the Win

Sandu, who is becoming increasingly unpopular by the day, may be Bolton’s last remaining friend, but former Moldovan PM Ion Chicu (who took office after Sandu got booted out for trying to be a dictator) is most definitely not.

Posting on Facebook, Chicu blasted (🇲🇩) Bolton yesterday for his calls to “eliminate” PMR.

My translation:

This guy [Bolton] calls himself a [war] hawk, but he’s a 95-pound weakling, a future defendant at a Nuremberg trial. If we Europeans let this guy “Afghanistan-ize” us, we will become nothing, and all will be lost. PMR is part of our country. Calling for the destruction of part of our country is something only a corrupt piece of shit would do.

LOL!

What can I say? Chichu is easily the funniest Moldovan politician of all time. But he’s also right – Bolton is definitely a war criminal.

One last time, for the idiots in the back

I’ve mentioned this before, and I’ll say it again because apparently, I’m literally the only person smart enough to figure this out.

PMR does, indeed, have a small army (~1000 troops), but its main guarantor of security is the small contingent of peacekeepers that “guard” its borders with Moldova.

The peacekeepers are supposed to be a multinational force, but they are primarily Russian soldiers due to complex political reasons. Their authority stems from an agreement signed by Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia back in 1992, and there are roughly 300 of them in total.

I say that the peacekeepers “guard” the borders because the actual truth is that they largely sit around and do nothing. On the busiest crossing between Moldova and PMR, there are a grand total of two peacekeepers who just stand around all day and watch cars and trucks (and a few bicycles) pass back and forth.

Their presence is important only in a symbolic sense because any armed aggression against them would result in Russian intervention if not also intervention from other states like Ukraine.

Every single peacekeeper is here 100% legally with the full approval of the Moldovan government. Therefore, in order to “eliminate” them, Moldova would either have to renege on its legal commitments or need to work with the various agreement partners (which include Ukraine) to reformulate the status quo.

Separate from the peacekeepers are approximately 1,400 members of what is called the “operational group” of Russian forces (OGRF), essentially a special division of the Russian army that has a number of tasks in Pridnestrovie, mostly to secure an enormous depot of expired small arms and weapons.

Except for a handful of PMR citizens who are also Russian citizens and also members of the Russian army assigned to the OGRF, every single one of those OGRF troops begins their tour of duty in Pridnestrovie by flying into the Chisinau airport in Moldova on a normal civilian flight.

If she really wanted to, Maia Sandu could easily “eliminate” every Russian soldier (OGRF) in Pridnestrovie simply by refusing to let them disembark at the Chisinau airport. Not a single bullet would even need to be fired.

Furthermore, since all OGRF troop rotations (and the names and IDs of every soldier) are scheduled in advance with Moldova’s knowledge, the airport cops know full well when an incoming flight is carrying (unarmed!) OGRF troops.

Yep, it really would be just that simple to stop the Russian “occupation” of Moldovan territory, if that’s how you view the posting of OGRF soldiers in Pridnestrovie.

Pridnestrovie in a Nutshell

Again, despite PMR being just 31 years old and operating a plethora of government media channels, including ones in English, Pridnestrovie is regularly seen as an island of unfathomable mysteries that can never ever be understood.

For those folks like Bolton, here is the super-short version of its history:

1989 – (Soviet) Moldova holds an enormous pro-independence rally in Chisinau that was attended by 300k to 500k people, far bigger than any gathering ever held in (much larger) Romania’s history. Led by a coterie of pro-Romanian fascists, it gave the appearance that the entire country was ready to become annexed to/united with Romania for a second time.

1990 – The (Soviet) Moldovan parliament passes a series of “language laws” that are interpreted as being the rapid outlawing of Russian everywhere and the replacement of everyone with a good job who cannot speak Moldovan. Folks on the east (“Left”) side of the Dniester River declare that they want to remain part of the Soviet Union but be separated from Moldova.

1991 – Moldova declares independence from the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union soon votes itself out of existance.  PMR becomes an independant state.

1990-1992 – A series of small-scale clashes break out along the Dniester River, mostly involving pro-Chisinau police officers shooting pro-PMR (unarmed) protesters.

1992 – Full-scale fighting breaks out in Bender (extensive detail here). The hapless Moldovan army and its vanguard of drunken looters get utterly shellacked after they make the foolhardy decision of firing on a Russian base. Moldova then sues for peace and signs a joint declaration with Russia that led to the creation of a peacekeeping force. Not a single shot is ever fired in anger ever again.

1992-present – Pridnestrovie develops into a fully independent and sovereign state. Except for the bizarro globalist consensus that it is “illegitimate,” it is, in fact, a completely normal government by absolutely anyone’s definition.

1994-present – The pro-Romania fascist movement in Moldova disintegrates. Only a small, hardcore group of “intellectuals” spout that nonsense ever again. Moldova quickly returns to being a country where diversity is embraced, racial or ethnic disputes almost never happen, and people are allowed to study and work in a variety of languages, including Russian, Ukrainian, and Gagauz.

Indeed, except for whenever the Chisinau government needs another handout from America or the European Union, there is absolutely no real conflict between PMR and Moldova whatsoever.

Anyone can cross the border at any time, without the need for special permission or papers. People regularly work on one side of the border and live on the other. Children, in some cases, live on one side and study on the other (both ways). Businesses operate on both sides of the river, et cetera.

Indeed, the only place where there is a “conflict” between PMR and Moldova is in the minds of a few, hardcore fascist Moldovans, the imagination of brainwashed Romanians, and the fantasies of anti-Russian politicians in the European Union and the United States.

99.99% of the people on both sides of the Dniester River want one thing and one thing only – to be left alone to peacefully live their lives in a stable, prosperous country.

But goddamn porn addicts, war criminals, and oligarchs hate peace and just won’t stop trying to get me and my family murdered.