Transnistria: The Party Isn't Over by Tomas van Houtryve

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In Transnistria, a little known separatist state at Europe's doorstep. the ambiance of the Cold War lingers. The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, to give it its full title, occupies a jagged splinter of land on Moldova's border with Ukraine. When the Soviet Union disintegrated and Moldova became an independent country, Transnistria waged and won a bloody war of secession. Now ruled by former KGB officers and elites from the Soviet military industrial complex, the enclave issues its own...
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In Transnistria, a little known separatist state at Europe's doorstep. the ambiance of the Cold War lingers. The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, to give it its full title, occupies a jagged splinter of land on Moldova's border with Ukraine. When the Soviet Union disintegrated and Moldova became an independent country, Transnistria waged and won a bloody war of secession. Now ruled by former KGB officers and elites from the Soviet military industrial complex, the enclave issues its own passports, currency and stamps, none of which are recognised by any other country. Russian peacekeeping soldiers occupy a no man's land separating Transnistrian and Moldovan security forces along the tense disputed border.

For the vast majority of residents, daily life is stable, though certainly not plentiful. The economy operates outside international regulation and is dominated by a single monopoly known as Sheriff, founded by two former officers of the special services. The ubiquitous company runs a supermarket chain, petrol stations, car dealerships, as well as a publishing house, a TV station, a mobile phone network, a spirits factory and a football team.

Much of the rest of the territory is punctuated by decaying centrally-run Soviet style institutions. Orphanages, prisons and hospitals operate according to the old communist playbook, and there is little appetite for reform nor adherence to international standards. Foreign NGOs and visitors are treated with suspicion and kept at arm's length. Abundant statues of Lenin and the omnipresent hammer and sickle reinforce the impression that Transnistria has forged an identity based on the Cold War past and completely at odds with present day Europe.
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