Transnistria is a small strip of land on the far side of the Dneiper River from the rest of what once was Moldavia S.S.R. of the Soviet Union. It’s only a couple miles wide, and consists mostly of flood plain. It wouldn’t make a noteworthy county in the U.S. In contrast with Moldava proper, it’s mostly comprised of Russians, Ukrainians, and Bulgarians.
When the U.S.S.R. split up, Moldava descended into a totalitarian hellhole. According to Amnesty International, arbitrary arrests and torture are still common (as of 2009). So it looks like Transnistria’s fear of ethnic brutality was quite reasonable.
Transnistria has Russian troops present, but claims to be an independent Republic. Few states have recognized it. The hostility between the Ukraine and Russia places Transnistria in grave economic peril, since it’s so tiny and relies on movement across the Ukrainian border into Odessa for virtually its entire economy; that’s probably why Russia never annexed it: the bad PR of the annexation would probably be ruinous to the country; it’s far too small and isolated to function as an exclave.
So are there Transnistrians who are working against the current anti-Russian regime in Ukraine? Wouldn’t surprise me at all. Are there Russians in Transnistria causing trouble? Again, wouldn’t surprise me. But does a county the size of Middlesex County, Massachusetts (home of Worcestor), with a third the population have any state apparatus that could be likened to the KGB? It is to laugh, mock, deride and ridicule.
“Transnistria is a small strip of land on the far side of the Dneiper River from the rest of what once was Moldavia S.S.R. of the Soviet Union.[...]In contrast with Moldava proper, it’s mostly comprised of Russians, Ukrainians, and Bulgarians.”
That is a false statement you are using to give the false impression the Russians are the largest part of the population of Transnistria so you can later falsely claim the Russians should have the right to annex transnistria. The demographics are:
32.1% Moldovans
30.4% Russians
28.8% Ukrainians
2.5% Bulgarians
6.2% others / unspecified
The reason there are so many Russians in the population is because of the Russian military occupation of Transnistria against the will of the more populous Moldovans and Ukrainians. Another reason is the heavy depopulation of the area in the Holocaust of WWII by the Germans, Romanians, Ukrainians, and Lithuanians.
“When the U.S.S.R. split up, Moldava descended into a totalitarian hellhole. According to Amnesty International, arbitrary arrests and torture are still common (as of 2009). So it looks like Transnistria’s fear of ethnic brutality was quite reasonable.”
That is a false statement to the extent the Russians are responsible for committing the “ethnic brutality” and opppression. Residents of Transnistria report it can cost you your life to say anything derogatory or even mildly critical of the Russian military rulers of Transnistria. The more numerous Moldovans native to Trannistria are treated as a despised underclass by the Russians, many of whom are immigrants to Transnistria.
“Transnistria has Russian troops present, but claims to be an independent Republic.”
The Soviet-Russian 14th Army created the breakaway state by the use of armed force, and it maintained its grip on Transnistria despite armed opposition from the majority of its native inhabitants by the use of overwhelming naked force of the Russian 14th Army in 1992. Transnistria is controlled and run by a Soviet KGB officer wanted by Interpol on an arrest warrant for murders who works under the command of the FSB officer commanding the FSB branch in the Transnistria MGB (state security). Transnistria is effectively an enclave carved out of Moldavia by the Russian Army and maintained in power by the Russian Army and the Russian Government.
“Few states have recognized it. The hostility between the Ukraine and Russia places Transnistria in grave economic peril, since it’s so tiny and relies on movement across the Ukrainian border into Odessa for virtually its entire economy; that’s probably why Russia never annexed it: the bad PR of the annexation would probably be ruinous to the country; it’s far too small and isolated to function as an exclave.”
Russia wants Transnistria to serve as a frozen conflict zone to use as a base behind the frontlines of NATO and as an arms trafficking distribution point.
“So are there Transnistrians who are working against the current anti-Russian regime in Ukraine? Wouldn’t surprise me at all. Are there Russians in Transnistria causing trouble? Again, wouldn’t surprise me.”
Whether or not it surprises you, what the Russians are doing in Transnistria and the way they are using Transnistria to conduct espionage, terrorist, and separatist operations against the Ukraine and Moldova is a criminal violation of numerous international laws, some of which are punishable by death even in Europe.
“But does a county the size of Middlesex County, Massachusetts (home of Worcestor), with a third the population have any state apparatus that could be likened to the KGB? It is to laugh, mock, deride and ridicule.”
Then you are a fool for neglecting the published facts and/or an obvious liar given how the leader is a KGB officer who is now working for the Russian FSB through a resident Russian FSB officer running the Transnistra MGB.
From the point of view of the Ukrainian author there is no worthy distinction between the two terms, because they suffice for the same individuals in many instances. This is especially true with respect to Transnistria, whose security service is called the MGB and is directly operated by an officer of the FSB from Moscow. The leader of Transnistria is a Russian KGB officer who was transferred into Transnistria by the KGB to takeover the region with the use of Russian soldiers playing the part of insurgent militia under the command of the Soviet-Russian 14th Army in Transnistia. So, from the point of view of the Ukrainians, the FSB are in actuality simply the KGB with KGB officers posing as the FSB in a changed organizational structure. This is also reinforced in Transnistia by the plethora of senior Russian military officers who still parade their Soviet era uniforms and decorations as if the Soviet Union still existed and ran Transnistria.