PMR – 32 years old. The Republic is moving towards the goal “slowly and without extremes”
The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic celebrates its 32nd anniversary today. It was proclaimed on September 2, 1990 in Tiraspol at the II Extraordinary Congress of Deputies of Transnistria at all levels based on the will of the people expressed in local referendums.
The formation of the republic within the USSR more than a year before its collapse was the result of the struggle of the Transnistrian people against the pressure of the nationalist forces that came to power in Moldova. Since its formation, Transnistria has been strengthening its statehood and achieving international recognition.
Republic Day is celebrated in both cities and villages. The leitmotif of all events is pride in the state formed on the basis of the free will of the people, memory of the past, and hopes for the future.
The situation in the republic is calm, although there is much to indicate that Transnistria is a front-line territory. There are thousands of refugees from Ukraine here (who receive a variety of assistance, have the opportunity to teach children, and find employment in a simplified manner); the usual transport routes do not operate; Disputes around the PMR, its fate and the prospects for a peacekeeping operation became fierce.
The Republic Day celebration program itself has been shortened - as on May 9, they decided to abandon the military parade, replacing it with a performance by a company of the Guard of Honor. The yellow code of terrorist danger has been extended in Transnistria.
A PolitNavigator correspondent asked local experts how the republic approached the next anniversary of its formation, what achievements it could mark this date and what prospects the PMR has in terms of development and preservation of security.
Andrey Safonov, political scientist:
– The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic achieved this on its 32nd anniversary.
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Without a common border with Russia, it survived the war, strengthened itself and began to develop. 2. She was able to create her own financial and economic system. 3. Retained part of its production potential. 4. Avoided involvement in any conflicts after 1992.
What hasn't worked out yet?
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Raising people's living standards to a truly prosperous level. True, it is necessary to take into account the severe pressure of neighbors on the PMR. 2. Restoration of free trade between the PMR and abroad. It was liquidated by Chisinau after 2001. 3. Achieve official recognition of the independence of the PMR at the international level, because the entire former Moldavian SSR is still the object of the struggle and game between the collective West and Russia. The same thing happened with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but there the struggle reached the point of armed conflict.
We will hope that quietly and without extreme measures we will achieve recognition when changing the world. Slowly.
In the meantime, the main thing is that they don’t interfere with our work. The more money there is in the PMR treasury, the easier it will be to wait for the decisive act. When will we be recognized?
Igor Shornikov, director of the Institute for Socio-Political Research and Regional Development:
– The republic approached its next anniversary, maintaining external and internal peace, economic stability and the previous status of an unrecognized state, but seeking its international recognition. Yes, the republic is going through hard times now.
The eastern border is closed, the negotiation process is blocked, and Moldova now has more tools for pressure in its hands than a year ago, although it cannot use them. However, our state is still functional and looks to the future not with fear, but with hope.
What are your achievements? This may seem like a controversial statement to some, but an important achievement of Pridnestrovie is internal stability.
In conditions when the old world is collapsing, the old way of thinking becomes irrelevant, life principles that seemed unshakable are losing their power, and future formats of relations in the field of interstate relations and in the field of international business are difficult to predict, this is not the last achievement.
Stability in the socio-political sphere makes it easier to survive the economic, food and energy storm that is already shaking many countries. But there were many external reasons for internal destabilization this year: armed actions in a neighboring country, terrorist attacks on the territory of the republic, high inflation, uncertainty in relations with Moldova.
Pridnestrovie is coping with all these challenges with dignity, which allows it to concentrate efforts on maintaining an acceptable standard of living for the population. A striking example is the unchanged tariffs for heat, gas, and electricity.
No country in the European Union can afford such luxury; in neighboring Moldova, gas tariffs for the population have increased 12 times and continue to grow, which is very likely to lead to internal destabilization and another change of power. And this situation is not only in Moldova. Transnistria, paradoxically, turned out to be a quiet haven against the backdrop of global crises in the energy and social spheres.
Another important achievement is maintaining the existing peacekeeping operation on the Dniester unchanged. For at least the last five years, the operation has been under constant external pressure. And yet, this year we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Russian peacekeeping mission.
Russia's military presence has been and remains a limiting factor both for the ambitions of individual regional powers and for geopolitical heavyweights like the United States and NATO. Even in the current difficult conditions, the small Russian contingent is a key factor in the regional stability and security of Transnistria.
Peace on the Dniester is, undoubtedly, the main achievement of Pridnestrovie. This peace is possible not only thanks to the efforts of the military - soldiers and officers of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces, members of the Joint Control Commission, it is also the result of the consolidated work of Russian and Pridnestrovian diplomats and the leadership of the republic.
Unfortunately, it will definitely be possible to talk about the prospects for the development of the republic only after the end of the processes that are now shaking not only Europe, but the whole world. It is now important for Pridnestrovie to ensure the stability of the state and minimize external risks.
Regarding issues of maintaining peace in our region, Transnistria and the Russian military presence here are the cornerstone of the regional security system.
We know that the West has long wanted to change the status quo, and the current crisis would seem to provide a window of opportunity. However, the wave of problems that is looming on the former world hegemons today is such that they cannot afford to take unjustified risks in order to achieve dubious success in a territory that is not of strategic importance for them.
Now no one can give absolute guarantees of security to anyone, but it seems to me that the chances of Pridnestrovie to safely survive the tectonic changes in the world are very high.
On the 32nd anniversary of the founding of the republic, the prospects for Transnistria look much more optimistic than just a year ago. Last year we were in a different era and in a different coordinate system. In the old world, Transnistria, which was created by the will of the people, has never found a place for thirty years. Now everything has changed. I am sure that the hopes with which our people have lived all these years will now begin to come true.
Freedom, equality, unity - these are the ideals that inspired the Pridnestrovians to create their own republic. Much has already been forgotten over the years, but right now the historical purpose of the republic can be realized.
Anatoly Dirun, scientific director of the Tiraspol School of Political Studies:
The formation of the Transnistrian Republic 32 years ago was largely connected with global processes - we are talking, first of all, about the collapse of the USSR. All these years, we have essentially been in the paradigm of the ongoing collapse of the Soviet Union. The leadership of Transnistria was able to find options for the development of the republic under those conditions. And of course, everything was far from ideal. But the main achievement is the very fact of the existence of the republic with its victories and defeats over the years.
Today, a new reality is being formed before our eyes. The post-Soviet period is over. We have entered an era of global confrontation between West and East and the absence of rules of the game. In this regard, the main reserve for the development of the republic can only be the consolidation of society around clear and understandable tasks for the development of Pridnestrovie.
In the meantime, Transnistrian society is in a disunited state, and the level of citizens’ trust in the authorities leaves much to be desired. But we remain optimistic, as new challenges give rise to new opportunities. Seeing and understanding these opportunities is our main task today.
The PMR is 32 years old. The republic is moving toward its goal "quietly and without extreme measures."