Transnistria - the "country" that remained Red

Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Tiraspol, Moldova
On Monday, our overnight train from Kiev arrived in Odessa about noon. Our "all-night vodka booze" cabin had managed to get a few hours sleep before we arrived. One of the guys not in our cabin opened the door of ours and nearly fainted from the smell of B.O. and alcohol that exploded from it! We had a few hours in Odessa to bum around before our 5pm train to Tiraspol, capital of the breakaway "country" of Transnistria. Of course, no train would be complete without alcohol and handily, we had our very own bar in our carriage! There followed vodka and beer, and then a bottle of brandy as they'd run out of vodka! We also had our first experience with border guards, although on this occasion, only Ukrainian leaving customs (Transnistrian officials weren't allowed to come onto the train apparently) so not too strict especially compared to what we'd face in the coming days. There's a whole page in my Lonely Planet on Transnistrian border "issues", stating that extortionate bribes are common, subsequently leaving many tourists too traumatised to notice any of the sights in the country. There's also no British embassy there; if you get into trouble, you're on your own. We arrived in Tiraspol at about 8pm, very excited at potential adventures ahead!

Transnistria (officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic or PMR) is a breakaway territory of about half a million people located on a strip of land between the River Dniester and the eastern Moldovan border with Ukraine. Moldova does not recognise PMR and considers it still part of Moldova. Historically, Moldova, to the west of the River Dniester, has had a Romanian ethnicity while Transnistria to the east of the River has been governed by Russia. After Moldova broke away from the USSR, the Transnistrians wanted to remain under Soviet control and there followed a short and bloody civil war between the two in 1992 resulting in an estimated 500-700 deaths. A ceasefire was subsequently signed between the two and a Russian/Moldovan/Transnistrian peacekeeping force stationed in the region. Although the ceasefire has held, the territory's political status remains unresolved: while internationally unrecognised, Transnistria is, in effect, an independent state, organised as a Presidential republic, with its own government, parliament, military, police, postal system, and currency. Its authorities have adopted a constitution, flag, national anthem, and a coat of arms. Because of the Russian military contingent present in Transnistria, it is considered under the effective control of Russia. Igor Smirnov was the President of Transnistria from the declaration of independence in 1991 until 2011. Supposedly, his family own the massive corporation (Sheriff) that controls everything from petrol, supermarkets, a mobile phone network, a TV station, to even the best football team in the country.

We were met at the train station by Tim, the owner of the only backpacker hostel in Tiraspol, a real friendly guy, and one of the very few ex-pats living and working in the “country”. I'm not sure why he ended up staying in Transnistria though, and I can't remember if anyone asked him! The only other people at the station were a handful of border guards. We all filled in a registration form which was stamped. Supposedly, if you're staying for longer than 24 hours, you later need to register with the local police but neither Tim nor Gareth seemed concerned about this and we didn't bother. We then had to trudge to Tim's Hostel with our luggage, where we were greeted with free beer, vodka, sausage bites and cheese chunks! There was a rather cramped bedroom for most of us - about ten low single beds in one room - but comfortable all the same. We headed out to the top Western-style restaurant in the city, "7 Fridays", but still dirt cheap. On the way back, we got some big plastic bottles of beer, which I think were cheaper than bottled water. Gareth, pissed right up as he was, basically forced Tim (who'd do anything for anyone) to head out at about 2am to get some more sausage and cheese nibbles (our new midnight beer snacks) but by the time he got back, he was comatose. Nice.

The next day we went for a city tour of Tiraspol. Gorbachev's policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in the late 1980s led to the break-up of the USSR. However, Transnistria decided to side with the USSR, leading to the strange state we have today where they have declared themselves one of the last bastions of Communism and developed their own army, police, borders, currency and government. They glorify all things Soviet, although capitalist cracks are appearing. Witness grand Soviet-style Presidential Palaces, complete with Lenin statues, Soviet tank exhibits, the ubiquitous War Memorial, all situated on the main street 25 October, named after the date of the October Revolution in the USSR in 1917. We may well have been the only tourists in Tiraspol, which meant a lot of stares. A few people who could speak English stopped for a chat with us. A student wanted a photo of us for his project. The atmosphere in the town was very relaxed and friendly though. We were like celebrities rather than foreigners.

It was a big night out that evening, with dinner at 7 Fridays followed by a night club with some local girls. Gareth and Sean had bought women's fur coats that afternoon and fur hats. They looked like Russian pimps. Not content with being the centre of attraction in Tiraspol because we were the only Westerners, the pimping outfits drove the point home. Gareth decided to add a shiny suit from his Iran trip. No point in doing anything in half measures. It was also Jordan's birthday. Looking at the photos afterwards (and thanks to Kristian, our "night-time" photographer from whom I have taken the photos), it appears everyone had a great time! The stats at the end of the night? Only one arrest during the night (soon extricated with a small bribe) a suspected broken or severely sprained hand, a potential GILF (think "granny" instead of "mother"). No naming for any of those involved - what happens in Tiraspol stays in Tiraspol!

On Wednesday, the itinerary called for a day trip to the small town of Bendery (aka Bender). Aside from the amusing name, this town was stated to be even more "Russian" than Tiraspol, with the usual Lenin busts and Russian buildings, but with Russian trains, the bullet hole-riddled City Hall, and old-style amusement park, amongst others. Now, I'd only got to sleep in the morning after an extended drinking session after the nightclub the previous night and Jordan had had a heavy session too, so while the rest of the group headed off to Bendery, we decided to head back to Tim's Hostel for a kip. Unfortunately, we didn't realise that Tim's mother-in-law had decided to disappear for the day and locked the hostel! After trying the "usual" methods of trying to get in and failing, there then followed a whole day locked out of the hostel! The rest of the group didn't reappear till 8pm, some of them pissed off their heads. Tim had another guest staying who'd turned up at 6pm having arranged with Tim that he'd be there then but no such luck. Let's just say that there were some very pissed off (and freezing cold) people waiting outside the hostel when the rest of them returned. There were some amusing stories though, one of which I can't really put into print for certain reasons. A bit of a strained evening so only a few drinks. Some of us then decided to go a local nightclub for some drinks but knocked it on the head when the bouncers insisted on trying to charge us for entry even though there were only two other people in the club.

The next day, it was time to head off to our next country and Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. We got taxis to the bus station and were instructed to wait in the adjacent park so any border guards wouldn't see us and try to extract bribes. When the bus arrived, we got on and were off; about half the bus was our group and the rest locals. Now, a bus full of tourists trying to cross the border out of an "unofficial" country is basically a bunch of wallets to corrupt border guards. We got to the border, handed over our passports, and lo and behold, Gareth was called off the bus and led to a hut to "negotiate" with the border guards. We hadn't registered according to the "proper" procedures, and I'm not sure if it would have done any good if we had, but palms had to be greased to allow us to continue on our way. Locals on buses obviously never have to experience delays due to tourists so by the time Gareth got back, there was nearly a riot as the locals were getting more and more angry at the delay, trying to get the bus driver to carry on without Gareth. This is the price you pay for traveling to such countries. Apparently, if we'd got the train to Chisinau, Transnistrian guards wouldn't be allowed on the train and we would probably have got out of the country without a bribe. Ho hum.

My thoughts on Transnistria? It's obviously got an interesting recent history and it's amazing how they've set up the infrastructure for a fully functioning breakaway "country". However, there didn't seem to be a great deal to differentiate it from many other Eastern European cities apart from the Soviet kitsch, but I suppose that's the whole point of it. My Lonely Planet states it is "one of the most mind-bending, surreal and distinctly memorable places in Europe". I'm not sure when this comment was written but I certainly didn't think that after my visit. They also state the "surreal atmosphere is unforgettable" but again, I didn't notice! Admittedly, you'll be lucky to meet any other tourists during your stay in the country, and that adds some novelty value in itself. You'll be stared at in the street, and anyone local who can speak English may want to strike up a conversation or take your photo. Crime is reportedly very low. Also, despite the political situation with Moldova, there is essentially no threat of being caught in a military action - there hasn't been fighting in Transnistria for many years. There's still a great deal of corruption by the authorities, especially at borders, but that's true of other places in Eastern Europe too.

Oh, I should add though that the drink is incredibly cheap and the girls are stunning!

Links:
Tiraspol Hostel, best backpacker option in the city: http://www.yptransnistria.com/?page_id=162
Simon Reeve on Transnistria!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&v=u0I404gXbNg

Comments

2025-02-14

Comment code: Ask author if the code is blank