Posted on 03/08/2014 1:42:08 PM PST by nickcarraway
To the west of Ukraine sits Transnistria, a tiny statelet that broke away from Moldova and is now stuck in a Soviet limbo.
As Russian troops occupy Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, residents of neighboring Moldova can look on knowingly.
Two decades after a similar influx of Russian troops, Moldova remains in a frozen conflict with a Moscow-backed puppet state within its borders.
Here in Tiraspol, a marble Vladimir Lenin towers over the national parliament building, while hammer and sickle flags hang from blocky buildings.
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
The Slavic population east of the Dniester did not like the revival of Romanian nationalism and the demotion of the Russian and Ukrainian languages and seceded. Moldova fought them and looked like it would win until in the final stages of the conflict the ex-Soviet 14th Guards Army intervened on the side of separatists.
Since then Russian troops have served as peacekeepers in the Moscow-aligned statelet.
To understand what’s behind the Russian takover of Crimea, google:
Skifska Natural Gas Field
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