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
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
Last weekend, my wife and I decided to go visit Transnistria. Although I’ve been living in Moldova for a few years now, I just never found the time to go. While we had no idea what to expect, we were really pleased by our visit to this country. After our first bus suffered some kind of electrical problem, the ride to Transnistria was smooth and … Continue reading A Lovely Day in Tiraspol
One of the most interesting periods of history that very few people on either side of the Prut River remember today is that there was a Soviet Moldovan Republic long before Romania ceded Bessarabia without a fight in 1940. It took several years after the 1917 “October” Revolution in Russia before the Soviet Union was able to exist as a coherent polity. Some of the … Continue reading Yes, MASSR
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