“Good morning. My name is Vladimir and I will be your tour guide in Transnistria.” After obediently acquiescing, my photographer colleague and I ask if we don’t look too much like journalists. But while Volodya’s (short for Vladimir, in Russian) gaze passes over me with indifference, it stops on my visiting companion.
“It’s been a long time since they shot anyone here. A few years ago, a young man was killed at a checkpoint, but he had provoked them. He went back and forth without respecting the orders of the Russian and Transnistrian soldiers. He didn’t stop and that’s it… Okay, and then it was a 1is January. Everyone was hungover.” The anecdote makes my colleague laugh a little, because his task is much more difficult than mine. He must photograph what is strictly forbidden to photograph here.
“But if you follow my instructions, and theirs, the visit will go very well, you will see”, continues our Moldovan guide. “Remember to always have cash, because no credit cards work in the enclave, except the Transnistrian ones. You can exchange euros and Moldovan lei at exchange offices. Carry only amateur-type cameras and do not photograph anything that belongs to the military, secret service or police. Best case scenario, they’ll erase everything on your card or not return your device. At worst, they’ll take you. No, they will not deport you to Russia. This is no longer possible. They are not even neighbors of the Russians! There is no airport, the border with Ukraine is closed and Chisinau has banned them from using our airport. In short, no worries.”
“Don’t say you are journalists. Don’t ask me questions in the street about the presence of the Russian army in Transnistria, the elections or the war in Ukraine. And even less on the Transnistrian oligarchs and all the schemes that allow them to live better than the rest of Moldova. And not just from Moldova either. Only speak to passers-by if they start the conversation themselves, and then tell them about the monuments and the history, about Catherine the Great, the Russian empress who founded everything here. This is what Transnistria wants to show to tourists like you.”
We are not unhappy to have Volodya, a former history teacher, with us. Obviously he knows what he’s talking about and how to do it. He presents our passports to the right counters and uses the right words. Thanks to him, we cross the “border” without having to declare anything. He knows why.
Our recent attempt to go to Transnistria in complete honesty, without a guide and without passing ourselves off as tourists, failed because of my colleague’s overly professional objectives and his overly recognizable journalistic appearance.
There, the guide’s services cost us 300 euros for the day, but he guaranteed us a peaceful entry into Transnistria and a return to Moldova and, in addition to the tourist attractions, an overview of the state of mind and functioning of this strange piece of territory located on the left bank of the Dniester.
“A truly Soviet region”
We started with Bender Fortress. It’s not so much that local historical monuments interest us. But there was something extremely important to us in this building. The walkway and the towers. Especially those located on the west side.
We took advantage of Vladimir’s great interest in the exhibition of military uniforms to escape his attention. From the firing points, with which 18,000 Turkish soldiers attempted to resist the 80,000-strong army during the war between the Ottoman and Russian Empires in the 18th centurye century, we were able to take a direct look at Russian military cuisine. Although it also looks like a historical exhibition from a distance, it is not.
The Russian military base is within reach. Although they hold Russian passports, the majority of soldiers are from Transnistria. Indeed, although Moldova allows Russians to leave the country, they can no longer enter it. Their number is therefore insignificant and their presence more symbolic than anything else. But even so, the separatist Transnistrian army represents a larger military force than the official Moldovan army, which has only some 7,000 men and 200 mobile armored vehicles, according to experts. A return by force of Transnistria to the fold of Moldova cannot therefore be envisaged.
“Transnistria is a truly Soviet region. An industrial region where, before the Second World War, labor, engineers and workers were brought from all the republics of the Union, which diluted the Moldovans to the point that they became a minority. And the language of communication in this melting pot on the left bank of the Dniester naturally became Russian. I think it was deliberate,” explains Vladimir on the road to Tiraspol [la capitale].
“And then, professional soldiers from all the garrisons of the country were
Related News :