After my wife and I enjoyed a lovely day in Transnistria last month, I told the Unsleeping Eye to increase its attention on this country that “doesn’t exist.” So, you can imagine my horror when I saw this story being reported by Agerpress, the official state media of Romania. My translation: The Use of the Latin Alphabet to Write the “Moldovan Language” Is Punishable by … Continue reading Fear and Loathing
After my interesting adventure in Transnistria, I realized that basically, no one knows anything about this country. Excuse me, no one outside the Russian-speaking world. Therefore, I present to you the world’s very first FAQ page for Transnistria, the country that doesn’t exist, except, of course, that it does. Isn’t Transnistria a breakaway republic? Kinda yes and kinda no. Here’s the timeline: 1924 – Transnistria … Continue reading Transnistria FAQ
Although the Republica of Moldova doesn’t draw too many tourists, there are still a non-trivial number of foreigners who manage to find their way to Chisinau for one reason or another. Therefore, if you’re reading this and you want to make some spending money while you’re in Chisinau, I hereby offer to pay you 200 Moldovan lei if you can complete just ONE of the … Continue reading The 200 Lei Chisinau Challenge
Last weekend, my wife and I decided to go visit Transnistria, the “country that doesn’t exist”, but, of course, very much does exist. But an unexpected burst of cold rain and a malfunctioning battery quickly turned our carefree day trip into something we could never have anticipated. This is a true story. Chisinau has several bus stations, but the one with daily shuttles to Transnistria … Continue reading Scared, Alone, and Paranoid in Transnistria
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