Crossing the Transnistrian Border

Well, I made it in and out of Transnistria.  The self-proclaimed breakaway republic controls its territory from the rest of Moldova.

I was a bit nervous about trying to cross the border with my American passport.

Many people have warned me that its pretty normal for the border guards to want a bribe.  I've heard that the usual tactic is say that a person is missing a visa for Transnistria and that it should have been applied for at the embassy before arrival.  Which sounds logical except that since Transnistria isn't a real country so there are no embassies anywhere.  I was expecting to pay €10 each way.

Rather than try to deal with things on our own we had our Russian-speaking driver take us in and out of Transnistria.  Everyone has to fill out an immigration form.  You actually fill out the form twice because the top and bottom is the same.  The border guard takes the top half and you keep the bottom half with you.  If you don't have the bottom half of the form then you don't get to leave.

I did hear that the border guards tried to shake down some Canadian chaps, who stayed at our hostel, when they entered Transnistria from Ukraine.  However, with our local driver then there was no problem and no fee.  There were lots of armed guards who weren't exactly friendly looking.  I did manage to snap a quick picture from the back of the car as we left.

Mileştii Mici, Moldova

Mileştii Mici is a large winery that is about 18 km (~11 miles) from Chişinău.  In 2007, it was included in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the largest wine collection in the world – 2 million bottles.


The only way to tour the winery is to book a tour and you must have your own car, with an extra space for the guide.  To me this makes no sense, especially if you want to sample some wine after the tour.  Maybe it's the capitalist in me but it seems that the winery is losing out on possible revenue here.  Anyway, we hired a driver to take us out to see the winery.

Mileştii Mici was founded in 1969.  The limestone passageways are 30 – 85 meters (98 – 279 feet) underground and they maintain a constant temperature of 12 ºC – 14 ºC (54 ºF – 57 ºF) and a humidity of 85 – 95%.

This place is huge.  The passageways are over 200 km (124 miles) long but only around 120 km (75 miles) are currently used.

Around 70% of the wine produced here is red wine, with 20% white and 10%  are dessert wines.  Some of the varieties produced here include Pinot, Traminer, Muscat, Riesling, Feteasca, Dnestrovscoie, Milestscoie, Codru, Negru de Purcari, Trandafirul Moldovei, Auriu, and Cahor-Ciumai.

From 1985 – 1987, the winery was shut down due to Mikhail Gorbachev's "dry law" which amounted to partial prohibition in order to address the high rate of alcoholism in the Soviet Union.  But the loss of 100 billion rubles to the black market ended this policy.  Fortunately, Mileştii Mici reopened and things are back in full swing.

Moldovan wine is quite good and very inexpensive.  After the tour, we had lunch and got to sample three bottles of wine.  Yum!!

Orheiul Vechi, Moldova

Orheiul Vechi is 60 km (~37 miles) from Chişinău; about 20 km (12.5 miles) from the Curchi Monastery.  It offers a beautiful landscape and basically an open air archaeological museum.

Entrance to the cave monastery

There is a a cave monastery dug by Orthodox monks in the 13th century.  The caves are in the side of a limestone cliff high about the Raut River.



The caves were inhabited until the 18th century, until they were taken over by local villagers.  A handful of monks returned in 1996 and began to restore it.

Where monks used to sleep

The Orheiul Vechi Cultural Landscape was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Curchi Monastery, Moldova

Curchi Monastery is the largest, and probably the most beautiful, monastery in Moldova.  It is about 55 km (34 miles) from Chişinău; about 20 km (12.5 miles) from Orheiul Vechi.


The monastery was founded in 1773.  It was closed in 1958 and during the Soviet-era the monastery was turned in to a psychiatric hospital.  In 1999, the facility was abandoned.  In 2002, the complex was given to the Orthodox Church of Moldova and reopened.

The monastery is made up of five churches, abbeys, cells and a refectory.  The largest and most impressive cathedral was built between 1866 and 1872.  It is the highest cathedral in Moldova.  It is a twin of the St. Andrew the First Called cathedral in Kiev.

Chisinau, Moldova

Chişinău (Kishinev in Russian) is the capital city of Moldova.  It is the country's largest city with ~724,000 residents.  The city is in the middle of the country.  It lies on seven hills and is on the river Bîc.  It was founded in 1436 as a monastery village.  In the 16th century it fell under control of the Ottoman Empire.

In June 1940, the area was occupied by the Red Army.  Then in November 1940, a 7.3 earthquake in eastern Romania caused lots of destruction.  Then in July 1941, the Germans and Romanians invaded.  By August 1944, when the Soviets retook the city, around 70% of Chişinău had been destroyed.  After the war, Chişinău became the capital of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.  After the breakup of the USSR, Chişinău became the capital of Moldova.

Soviet-style apartment blocks make up the "Gates of Chişinău" which is what you see when you enter the city from the airport.


The Stephen the Great monument was completed in 1927.  In 1944, it was taken to Romania.  Then in 1945, the Soviet authorities ordered its return.  It is now at the main entrance of the Stephen the Great Park.  People come to lay flowers at the pedestal on national holidays and on their wedding days.



Inside the park is the Alley of Classical Authors.  It was opened in 1957 and features the busts of writers of Moldovan literature and other social figures on red granite bases.

The Monument to the Liberation was unveiled at Freedom Square in 1969.  The sculpture honors the Soviet Army who liberated the country from fascism.

The Triumph Arch was built in 1841.  I think that it commemorates the Soviet victory in the Russo-Turkish war.  Every hour its bells chime.  It stands 13 meters (~43 feet) tall and is made out of white stone. 

Presidential Palace

Chişinău City Hall

                   

Near the arch is the Cathedral of Christ's Nativity which is the city's main Russian Orthodox church.  The Neoclassical cathedral was built in the 1830s.  It was dedicated in 1836.  The new bell tower was built in 1997.

The Monument to the Victims of Jewish Genocide was built in 1992.

The Monument to the Heroes-Komsomols was built in 1959.  It honors the young people who perished for Moldavian freedom.

St. Great Martyr Tiron's Cathedral was built in 1858.  The Russian Byzantine architectural style is quite beautiful.

Memorial of Soviet Occupation

All of the city signs and ads were written in Moldovan (Romanian) but everyone here speaks Russian.

Alexander Pushkin Monument

It was nice to be able to use my Russian again but it has gotten really rusty.  I guess it is due to too many Czech lessons.  I guess two Slavic languages is just too much for me.

Back in Bucharest

With the way the flights worked out we had most of the day on Thursday to explore Bucharest.  I did a pretty good job of seeing everything when I was there in 2010.  But going out to explore is way better than sitting in an airport for almost 11 hours waiting on a connecting flight.

Construction of the Russian Orthodox church was completed in 1909.  Located in central Bucharest, Emperor Nicholas II provided 600,000 gold rubles so that a church was available for Russians living in the Kingdom of Romania.  The church was closed during WWI, right before the Central Powers occupied the city, and valuables were sent to St. Petersburg where they disappeared during the 1917 Russian Revolution.  The church reopened in 1921.  In 1957, it was passed to the Romanian Orthodox Church and in 1992 it became used by students and professors at the University of Bucharest.  Today it is called the St. Nicholas Students' Church.

The Antim Monastery was built from 1708 to 1715.  It was originally intended to be a haven for refugees and fallen women.  It is located in the quarter that was razed by Ceauşescu's bulldozers in 1985-1986 in order to make room for the grand avenue leading to the Palace of the People.  It was saved by 23 meters (~75.5 feet).

Miran hadn't been to the Palace before and wanted to take the tour.  This thing is still massive.  This tour included a visit to the terrace which provided some great views of the entire city.

Transnistria

When I go to Chişinău, I plan on visiting Transnistria.  Trans-what??  Don't feel bad if you've never heard of it before.  Most people haven't.

The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), Transnistria, is a breakaway republic in Moldova.  It is a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border with Ukraine.  It is just a little smaller than Delaware.  The population is ~520,000.  The capital, and largest city, is Tiraspol with 160,000 people.

Moldova does not recognize Transnistria's succession from the country.  In fact, no other country officially recognizes it.  The only three "countries" that recognize it are Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia – all three of which are also breakaway republics (in Azerbaijan and Georgia).

Fighting erupted in March 1992 between Moldovan forces and separatists.  The Russian 14th Army entered in on the side of the PMR and a ceasefire agreement has been in place since July 1992.  Russia still has 1,200 troops in Transnistria which Moldova wants recalled.  Part of the ceasefire states that, if Moldova tries to merge with Romania, then Transnistria will be allowed to go its own way.

Transnistrian Ruble

Internationally, Transnistria has been accused of selling weapons and laundering money.  It is widely thought that the country has ties to the Russian Mafia.

When I go to Tiraspol I will have to show my passport at the PMR border.  I will have to fill out a customs form and carry it with me.  Since I'm not going to spend the night I won't have to register with the authorities (KGB).  When I leave, I just present the customs form to the border guard.  Since it is not a recognized country I don't think that they can stamp my passport.  Several of my Moldovan friends have said that I will probably have to bride the border guards to get in and out.  I'm told that the going rate is €10.  I'm sure that the guards won't speak anything other than Russian or Romanian.

Some people compare Transnistria to North Korea.  My friend, Norbert, thinks that I'm completely mad for going.  But if I'm going to be so close, it makes no sense for me to not check it out.  I've already registered with the U.S. Embassy in Chişinău and informed them of my visit to Transnistria.  I was advised that there are no restrictions on travel but if I get into trouble there, they won't be able to assist me until I get back to Moldova.  Wish me luck!!

Here's a YouTube video that gives some more info on Transnistria.

©Journeyman Pictures

Republic of Moldova

My trip at the end of the week to Moldova will be my first visit to what used to be part of the Soviet Union.  It will also be the 32nd country I will have visited since moving to Euroland in July 2009.  So here's some info about the Republic of Moldova.

Moldova is landlocked between Romania and Ukraine.  It is just a little larger than Maryland.  The capital city is Chişinău (Kishinev in Russian).

After WWI, Moldova was part of Romania.  In 1940, the area was annexed by the Soviet Union and became the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.  After WWII, the Soviets began migrating Russians, Belorussians, and Ukrainians in to the area.  Everyone in Moldova speaks both Moldovan and Russian.  Moldovan is the same language as Romanian but the Soviets made everyone use the Cyrillic alphabet to write it.  In 1989, Moldova switched back to using the Latin alphabet.

Moldova has a parliamentary democratic government.  One day it would like to join the EU but that will be a long way away.  Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe.  There are some 3.65 million people in the country.  But some 600,000 to 1 million people working abroad, many of them illegally.  Money from abroad accounts for almost 38% of the country's GDP.

Moldova has earned a bad reputation for black market organ trafficking.  Some people are so poor that they have sold their own organs in order to survive.  Here's a video I found out on YouTube about it.

 

©Al Jazeera

In 1990, an independent Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was declared.  This small strip of territory inside Moldova, east of the Dniester River, is mostly Russian and Ukrainian.  This area was afraid that Moldova would leave the USSR and try to become part of Romania.  

In 1991, Moldova declared itself independent from the Soviet Union.  Military conflict broke out between Moldovan police and separatists.  The Russian 14th Army is still in Transnistria in order to help keep the peace.  Transnistria considers itself an independent country.  However, no other country in the world recognizes it.  Part of the peace agreement is that if Moldova does ever merge with Romania then Transnistria will be allowed to leave Moldova.

Here's another video I found on YouTube that talks about Moldova.

©IFAD

Update 2025:  Here's a short video I found on YouTube about Moldova.

©History Matters