Transnistria

Another Domino on Russia’s Periphery?
By Achilles Skordas*
Achilles Skordas is Assistant Professor in the Department of International Studies, Faculty of Law, University of Athens. He is also Director of the Department for International and Defense Studies, Greek Parliament. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of affiliated institutions.

Transnistria, along with Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Nagorno-Karabakh, is among the many regions on Russia’s periphery plagued by separatist clashes. As the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1989, Slav nationalists backed by the former 14th Soviet Army initiated the secession of Transnistria, located in eastern Moldova along the border with Ukraine, from Moldova. The Moldovan government’s subsequent failure to bring the territory under its control in 1992 solidified Transnistria’s de facto separation from the country. Russian troops are still stationed in Transnistria with two separate mandates: as a peacekeeping force and as the Russian Operational Group (ROG), securing Russian military equipment and property. ...

http://www.yale.edu/yjia/articles/1-1-Summer2005%20HTML/transistria.htm