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I’ll bite. There’s more to this story. Can you share it?

by stevenjohns 8y ago

v_lisivka 8y ago
Yet another land grab of Russian Federation.
- thefringthing 8y ago
  "Grab" only in the sense of "not leaving" when it would have been appropriate to do so.
  - v_lisivka 8y ago
    "Grab" in sense "use Russian army to kill natives to grab their land."
jayalpha 8y ago
People are friendly, alcohol is good: https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/53j9n3/i-went-to-a-country-that-doesnt-exist-to-drink-its-famous-brandy https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/53j9n3/i-went-to-a-c... And a 1000 left their lives that this small strip of land can exist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnistria_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnistria_War
timonovici 8y ago
There's a lot more to Transnistria. Russia wants it as a strategic point of access to Europe. There are roads purposely build for quick access with tanks (big, heavy, concrete roads, reinforced with rebar - your car usually makes a clunking sound as if you're on a train). So they support the region with preferential natural gas prices (sometimes the bill gets completely tagged to Republic of Moldova). At the time when URSS collapsed, and the split happened - most of the heavy industry was on the Transnistrean side (including weapons factories), so it was big loss for Republic of Moldova. The Army 14 of the URSS never left Transnistria, and Russia still refused to call them back. [ https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicarea_Armatei_a_14-a_%C3%AEn_Conflictul_din_Transnistria https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicarea_Armatei_a_14-a_%C3%... ] It's a semi-lawless land, used sometimes as a hiding spot for criminals, assassins, etc. Gun trafficking is at home there. When on bike, I managed once to pass the border without being checked (and I didn't notice I didn't have my papers with me, I almost got stuck in there) - you're basically at the whims of the border patrols. There are a few villages that belong administratively to Republic of Moldova (I visited Coșnița [coshnitza] with a friend, that is one such village) - this state of affair came with great cost of lives, and people there still remember the price they paid. Tensions sometimes get high - in 2012 a drunk guy was shot and killed by the border patrol, as he was traversing the bridge - people were literally picking up forks and scythes to avenge him [ http://www.ziare.com/europa/moldova/moldovean-impuscat-de-rusi-in-transnistria-cedo-obliga-moscova-la-despagubiri-1359451 http://www.ziare.com/europa/moldova/moldovean-impuscat-de-ru...]

I’ll bite. There’s more to this story. Can you share it?

v_lisivka 8y ago

Yet another land grab of Russian Federation.

thefringthing 8y ago
"Grab" only in the sense of "not leaving" when it would have been appropriate to do so.
- v_lisivka 8y ago
  "Grab" in sense "use Russian army to kill natives to grab their land."

jayalpha 8y ago

People are friendly, alcohol is good: https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/53j9n3/i-went-to-a-country-that-doesnt-exist-to-drink-its-famous-brandy https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/53j9n3/i-went-to-a-c... And a 1000 left their lives that this small strip of land can exist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnistria_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnistria_War

timonovici 8y ago

There's a lot more to Transnistria. Russia wants it as a strategic point of access to Europe. There are roads purposely build for quick access with tanks (big, heavy, concrete roads, reinforced with rebar - your car usually makes a clunking sound as if you're on a train). So they support the region with preferential natural gas prices (sometimes the bill gets completely tagged to Republic of Moldova). At the time when URSS collapsed, and the split happened - most of the heavy industry was on the Transnistrean side (including weapons factories), so it was big loss for Republic of Moldova. The Army 14 of the URSS never left Transnistria, and Russia still refused to call them back. [ https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicarea_Armatei_a_14-a_%C3%AEn_Conflictul_din_Transnistria https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implicarea_Armatei_a_14-a_%C3%... ] It's a semi-lawless land, used sometimes as a hiding spot for criminals, assassins, etc. Gun trafficking is at home there. When on bike, I managed once to pass the border without being checked (and I didn't notice I didn't have my papers with me, I almost got stuck in there) - you're basically at the whims of the border patrols. There are a few villages that belong administratively to Republic of Moldova (I visited Coșnița [coshnitza] with a friend, that is one such village) - this state of affair came with great cost of lives, and people there still remember the price they paid. Tensions sometimes get high - in 2012 a drunk guy was shot and killed by the border patrol, as he was traversing the bridge - people were literally picking up forks and scythes to avenge him [ http://www.ziare.com/europa/moldova/moldovean-impuscat-de-rusi-in-transnistria-cedo-obliga-moscova-la-despagubiri-1359451 http://www.ziare.com/europa/moldova/moldovean-impuscat-de-ru...]