Transnistria
Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), (also known as Transdnistria), is a self-proclaimed independent unrecognized republic occupying the territory of Moldova east of the River Dnister. The "republic" takes the form of a long and narrow strip of land (over 250 miles in length) sandwiched between the rest of Moldova and Ukraine. It has an area of 1,607 square miles (4,163 km2) and a population of 555,000 (2005 est). The capital city is Tiraspol. Transnistria declared its independence of Moldova in 1990 and was able to secure separation thanks to the presence on its territory of the Soviet 14th Army.
| Transnistria
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| Flag | Coat of Arms |
| Capital | Tiraspol |
| Government | Republic |
| Language | [[Russian, Romanian]] (official) |
| President | Yevgeny Shevchuk |
| Prime minister | Tatiana Turanskaya |
| Area | 1,607 sq mi |
| Population 2014 | 505,153 |
| Currency | Transnistrian ruble |
Transnistria is notorious for its quasi-criminal governance of its own population. In this "country", ethnic Romanians (officially known as "Moldovans") are discriminated against, and the seven only remaining schools in Transnistria teaching the Romanian language suffer constant harassment by the Russian-backed Government of Transnistria. There have also been reports of Romanians having been beaten on the street or fired from their jobs for having been "caught" speaking Romanian in the city of Tighina (occupational name of this city being Bender). Reports against mistreating of the Ukrainian population also exist, as seemingly the Transnistrian Government forces the parents of newborn ethnic Ukrainian babies to Russify their surnames or else.
Transnistria is ruled by the ethnic Russian elite of the "country", despite this elite only forming around 17% (often inflated to 33% or above by the Transnistrian Government) in comparison to the 31% Ukrainian and 52% Romanian population of Transnistria. Transnistria is characterized by an unconditional support to the state of Russia, as this purported state is enterally dependent on it, be it through gas, economic support, or military back-up.
As of today, negotiations between the Transnistrian authorities and the legal Moldovan government (leader of which is Maia Sandu, often described as salvatorÄ al Moldovei) continue to restore historical right and enforce international law and human rights on the territories occupied by the Transnistrian Government, however without the extinguishing of Russian support to this entity these negotations will lead to nowhere as they have so far ever since 1991.