TRANSNISTRIA

All the guidebooks and internet resources say to avoid visiting or transiting across the Moldovan breakaway nation of Transnistria. In 1990 during the fall of the Soviet Union, Transnistria declared independence from Moldova and was followed by 2 years of bloody war before a cease fire agreement was reached. Today the “Nation” of Transnistria is a self-sustaining communist nation, printing their own money, with their own president and up their own borders.

The rumors I had heard turned out to be true from the get go. At the border I was asked to handover my passport and entered an interrogation room. The officer made friendly talk with me while flipping through my passport. Then said there was a problem, and that I only had one stamp into Moldova and he could get the second one for me if I gave him “a gift”. I laughed, snatched my passport from his hands, left the room. I had heard of these bribe tricks and refused to be another victim. I went to the counter and got my 10 hour visitor permit stamped by the friendly border patrol woman with no problem. Unfortunately the bus had left without me.

When I finally got to the capital city of Tiraspol, I had no clue as to where to go or what to do. I began walking through the streets while mapping out my way back to the bus station. The symbol of communism was on everything and not a word of English to be seen or heard but all Russian. In the city center memorials to those killed during the war fill the city center along with a battle tank to remember how the conflict is on going. The people continue the effort to gain international recognition as an independent country.