SUMMARY
PMR (Pridnistrovs'ka Moldavs'ka Respublika; the Dniestr Republic) also known, among others, as Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, Trans-Dniester, Transnistria or the Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic, is a self-proclaimed republic in the area east of the River Dniestr in eastern Moldova.
Between 1940 and 1991, Moldova was part of the former Soviet Union under the name MSSR (Moldovian Soviet Socialist Republic). The Slavic Russian-speaking minority of Moldova was concentrated primarily in Chisinau and the so-called Dniestr region. As a result of the rise of nationalism in Moldova and increased calls for liberation from Soviet rule, the tensions between the Russian-speaking minority in Dniestr and the Moldovans grew at the end of the 1980s. The Slavic minority had closer relations to the communist party and the Soviet Union than to the nationalist authorities in Chisinau.
Russian-speaking Slavic nationalist politicians won a series of local elections in the Dniester region during the spring of 1990. Since the most important administrative, economic and political positions in the region were in the hands of the Russian-speaking minority, it was easy for the local authorities to mobilize the population and begin structuring the secessionist movement. Following Moldova’s Declaration of Sovereignty in 1990, establishing the precedence of Moldovan law over the Soviet law, the Dniestr leaders in Tiraspol, the regional capital, gathered to pass a declaration of “sovereignty” for their region on 2 September 1990. Moldova was still a constituent part of the former Soviet Union.
However, on 27 August 1991, Moldova declared independence from the Soviet Union. The pro-Soviet leaders in the Dniestr region had declared independence from Moldova (but not from the Soviet Union) the day before. Following Moldova’s independence, presidential elections took place in December. PMR did not take part in the elections but, instead, organized separate presidential elections and a referendum on independence from Moldova. The pro-secessionist, pro-Soviet Igor Smirnov was elected president of PMR, and a clear majority of the voters supported the independence declared earlier the same year.
When the Soviet Union fell apart, unlike the 15 Union Republics, PMR did not achieve international recognition or reach an agreement with its new “parent state” on a mutually acceptable arrangement. Instead, the collapse of the Soviet Union encouraged PMR to struggle for secession from Moldova. The PMR leaders were able to seize control of the former Soviet installations, such as police stations, throughout the region before the Moldovan authorities started to institutionalize their power.
A conflict between the Government of Moldova and the PMR escalated at the beginning of 1992. Initially, the separatists lacked their own regular armed forces and, thus, relied on irregulars. The irregulars were a combination of the national guard that was formally established after the declaration of independence in 1991 and paramilitaries. Furthermore, there were allegations that PMR received support from the Russian 14th Army based in the region. When the conflict began, there were some 9250 Russian soldiers deployed in the region . However, their involvement on the side of the secessionists cannot be substantiated.
A ceasefire agreement signed in July 1992 between the Government of Moldova and the Russian Federation put an end to the violence. The irregular armed structures of the self-declared Republic were either disarmed and demobilized or converted into regular units within the relatively large PMR army. The estimated strength of the PMR armed forces was 7500 men still in 2009. The political, economic and military support from Moscow and the Russian soldiers to the secessionist regime and armed forces has been and remains crucial for PMR. Russia has also served as the guarantor of the ceasefire.
President Smirnov remained in power until 2011 leading a highly centralized political system. Smirnov was succeeded by Yevgeniy Shevchuk, who has been in favor of PMR joining Russia. However, there is a lack of consensus between Moldova, Russia and PMR about the future of the area.
