Упрощенная HTML-версия
Author : S. Chernyavskiy
Director of the Center for Post-Soviet Studies, Institute of International Studies, Moscow State Institute (Uni-
versity), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Professor, Doctor of Science (History), Minister
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
IN JUNE 2017, it was 25 years since the tragedy in Bendery, a
Moldovan city whose population had rejected the plans of
Chisinau nationalists to prohibit them from using Russian at
work and in everyday life and from teaching Russian to their chil-
dren. Attempts to reach a compromise on the "right to use one's
own language" had failed. Moldova split apart and the conflict
turned into an armed confrontation.
As of today, the peacekeeping mission established under that
agreement and composed of contingents from Russia, the PMR
and the Republic of Moldova has fulfilled its main task: that of
ensuring peace in the region. But the conflict remains unresolved
even today. The two parts of a once united country - the Re-
public of Moldova and the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic
- are living separately, having chosen their own paths of development.
THE PROLONGED domestic political instability in Moldova, caused by an intensified struggle
between pro-Western parties, unbelievable corruption, and cultivation of the idea of Moldova's
"reunification" with Romania, for a time pushed the Transnistria issue into the background.
HOW SHOULD RUSSIA BEHAVE under these conditions? Clearly, its activities in matters re-
lating to Moldova should be directed to achieve realistic, pragmatic goals. Although against the
background of the conflict with Ukraine and EU sanctions Transnistria requires additional fi-
nancial efforts, its security continues to be a focus of attention for the Russian authorities.
Russia would be ready to help reintegrate Transnistria into a unified Moldovan state if the fol-
lowing basic conditions are met: Moldova's continued neutrality, non-aligned status, and inde-
pendence from Romania, as well as guarantees for the authority and businesses of the current
Transnistrian elite, including in matters of general foreign policy. But in the present conditions
such an approach is unrealistic, because the Moldovan elite categorically refuses to consider the
possibilities for transition to a federation, while for Transnistria the suggested "wide autonomy"
is an extremely low starting point even for a theoretical discussion.
As for the long-term prospects of a Transnistrian settlement, they will directly depend, in my
opinion, on who wins the war in Ukraine, because the current regime is unlikely to abandon its
anti-Russian, Russophobic policy, which implies, among other things, the liquidation of Transnis-
tria.
http://interaffairs.ru
Transnistria in the Grip of the Ukraine Crisis: On the 25th An-
niversary of the Transnistrian Conflict