Transnistria

Transnistria, also known as Transdniestria or officially the Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic (Russian: Приднестровская Молдавская Республика; Moldovan Cyrillic: Република Молдовеняскэ Нистрянэ; Ukrainian: Придністровська Молдавська Республіка), is an unrecognised state in the narrow strip between the Dniester River and the Ukrainian border, currently internationally recognized as part of Moldova. Its capital is Tiraspol.

Three other partially unrecognized countries have recognized Transnistria: Abkhazia, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), and South Ossetia.

Transnistria was established by the Pridnestrovian Regional Council.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, tensions between Moldova and the breakaway region escalated into a military conflict that began in March 1992 and ended with a ceasefire in July of the same year. As part of this agreement, a joint three-party monitoring committee (Russia, Moldova, and Transnistria) oversees the demilitarized zone, which includes twenty areas on both sides of the river. Despite the continued ceasefire, the region's political status remains unresolved: Transnistria is an unrecognized but de facto independent republic with its own government, parliament, army, postal system, currency, vehicle registration, and postal code.

In accordance with a 2005 agreement between Moldova and Ukraine, all Transnistrian companies seeking to export goods across the Ukrainian border must be registered with Moldovan authorities. This agreement was implemented after the EU Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine came into effect in 2005. Most Transnistrians hold Moldovan citizenship, but many also hold Russian and Ukrainian citizenship.

The main ethnic groups in 2015 were Russians (34%), Moldovans (33%), Ukrainians (26.7%), and Bulgarians (2.8%).

Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) are "frozen conflict" zones after the Soviet Union. These four partially recognized countries maintain friendly relations with each other and form a community of democracy and national rights.

Names

Although Transnistria is the most well-known name in English, the official name for the region is Pridnestrovie. The following provides a detailed explanation of the names used for Transnistria, both official and unofficial, as they appear in local languages and English.

Official long names

Transnistria has three official languages: Russian, Moldovan (in Cyrillic), and Ukrainian. In each of the three national languages, the name is read:

Russian: Приднестровская Молдавская Республика (Pridnestrovskaya Moldavskaya Respublika), abbreviation ПМР
Moldovan Cyrillic: Република Молдовеняскэ Нистрянэ (Republica Moldovenească Nistreană), abbreviation РМН
Ukrainian: Придністровська Молдавська Республіка (Prydnistrovs'ka Moldavs'ka Respublika), abbreviation ПМР

The abbreviations of each name appear in the official languages on the Transnistrian coat of arms.

The Constitution of Transnistria gives the official name as Pridnestrovie Moldavskaya Respublica (PMR).

Some authorities, such as the Presidential Office, translate this name into English as Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. The official abbreviation in English is the Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic.

Note: This translation maintains the original text's factual data, numbers, and names intact, without adding commentary or meta-information.