A tiny city in Eastern Europe is a surreal relic of Soviet times with statues of Lenin, but is located within a “country” even Russia refuses to recognise. Transnistria is a separatist region that lies between the Dniester river and the Moldova–Ukraine border, on a narrow strip of land.
It broke away from Moldova following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, but it is not recognised as a state by the international community, which regard it as part of Moldova. Transnistria’s de-facto government has close ties with Russia, which backs it economically and militarily. A small number of Russian troops are even stationed in the country, a deterrent against attempts to reintegrate the region with Moldova.
Transnistria previously passed a referendum trying to join Russia, and Moscow has threatened to annex the territory in the past.
However, as it is landlocked, and an occupation would require moving through hostile states, experts are sceptical about whether it would be feasible.
The Transistrian authorities say the languages are Moldovan (which is virtually identical to Romanian), as well as Russian and Ukrainian, though Russian is the most spoken language.
As well as having the unrecognised Transnistrian citizenship, most residents also have Moldovan citizenship, as well as Russian, Romanian, or Ukrainian citizenship.
The region is home to roughly 367,000 people according to recent Moldovan estimates, and the capital and largest city is Tiraspol.
The small number of people who have visited the city have described it as like stepping back in time to the Soviet era, with statues of communist leaders, mosaics from the period, and architecture straight out of the USSR.
Visitors say the city is “really small” and the entire territory only covers some 4,163 sq km.
The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office advises against all travel to Transnistria, citing the proximity of Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the risk of British nationals being detained.
“Transnistria is outside the control of the Moldovan government,” the department says. “There is widespread military activity in Ukraine, including close to some Moldovan borders. There were explosions in the region in 2022.
“All border crossings between Ukraine and Transnistria are temporarily closed.
The Foreign Office also warns that “self-declared Transnistrian parliament has increased powers for prosecutions and pre-trial detentions against people regarded as extremists”.
“They interpret extremism as including many activities that British nationals would consider legitimate, including moderate protest or freedom of expression,” it adds.
