| Pridnestrovians choose between Russia and Moldova The day after tomorrow, a significant event will take place in the former post-Soviet space - a referendum on independence will be held in the unrecognized republic of Transnistria, the preparation for which has already caused protests in Moldova. Two questions are put to the referendum: “Do you support the course of independence of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and the subsequent free accession of Transnistria to the Russian Federation?” and “Do you consider it possible to renounce the independence of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic with subsequent entry into the Republic of Moldova?” As the chairman of the Supreme Council of the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR) Yevgeny Shevchuk explained to Vremya Novostey, the Pridnestrovians will determine “in which direction the development of our statehood should be further pursued.”
According to the chairman of the Transnistrian Central Election Commission, Peter Denisenko, the referendum will be recognized as valid if more than half of the 389 thousand voters take part in it and if 50% of the votes plus one are given for one of the proposed options. The outcome of the referendum is not difficult to predict - people will say “yes” to independence and “free accession” to Russia (since both topics are combined into one question) and refuse to join Moldova. The president of the unrecognized PMR, Igor Smirnov, is confident that “residents of the region will make a conscious choice in favor of integration with Russia.” According to him, “thanks to Russia, peace and interethnic harmony have been preserved in the region for many years, and all Pridnestrovians, regardless of belonging to a particular nationality, have a pro-Russian mentality.”
However, representatives of the United States, the EU and international organizations (for example, the OSCE) announced that they would not recognize the results of the popular will. Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Andrei Stratan warned: “According to international norms, on September 18, the second day of the referendum, nothing will change in the Transnistrian region.” But according to Igor Smirnov, the West’s reluctance to recognize the results of the referendum “once again speaks of double standards and has nothing to do with true democracy.”
According to the President of Transnistria, Igor Smirnov (pictured) , under the guise of discussing issues of democracy, the West is drawing Chisinau into the NATO orbit, which “makes integration with Moldova impossible due to the lack of security guarantees for the Transnistrian people.”
The referendum on September 17 will be the seventh in the history of Transnistria, but it may turn out to be significant - as Valentin Krylov, one of the leaders of the Moldovan Party of Socialists, noted to VN, after it “Transnistria will become different.” This is facilitated by a sharp deterioration in the already unimportant relations between Chisinau and Tiraspol following the introduction of new customs rules by the authorities of Moldova and Ukraine on March 3 this year. In Tiraspol this was regarded as a trade blockade. In response to it, participants in the extraordinary congress of Pridnestrovian deputies of all levels on March 31 came out in favor of holding a referendum. At the same time, Tiraspol refused to participate in negotiations with Chisinau.
Yesterday, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov, called for treating the referendum “without emotions,” since the essence “is the need to return to the negotiating table.” On Smolensk Square they believe that in Tiraspol “they decided to ‘shout out’ to the international community through a national poll,” but “it is hardly correct and politically far-sighted for modern Europe to ignore, much less disrespect, such a form of expression of the people’s will.”
A few days before the referendum, a center for processing documents for accepting Russian citizenship began operating in Tiraspol. Russian Ambassador to Moldova Nikolai Ryabov, who took part in the opening ceremony of the center on Wednesday, said that “any citizen of the PMR who does not have citizenship of other states has the right to apply for Russian citizenship in a simplified manner.” Now, to obtain Russian documents, Pridnestrovians do not need to travel to Chisinau - their issuance will take place in Tiraspol. Igor Smirnov, who was present at the ceremony, expressed satisfaction that Moscow “listened to the opinion of Pridnestrovians who feel like Russians.” The queue for obtaining Russian citizenship is scheduled for two years in advance.
Does this mean that after the referendum Tiraspol can count on even greater support from Moscow? The editor of the Transnistrian opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta, Andrei Safonov, told VN that Russia “will not enter into open confrontation with the EU, the USA and other countries, recognizing Transnistria as a subject of international law.” According to Mr. Safonov, there will be no practical results, with the exception of political dividends for the PR campaign for the next election of Igor Smirnov to the post of President of the PMR in the elections in December. Pessimists warn that under pressure from the West, Moscow may “surrender” Transnistria, and then, giving it a decorative autonomous status, Chisinau will put its own people in power there, taking over local business as well.
Turnout at the referendum promises to be high. After 16 years of living in an unrecognized state, Pridnestrovians have accumulated fatigue; people want stability. A resident of the city of Dnestrovsk, Galina Babiy, explained her desire to vote to VN: “I really want certainty!”
Dmitry Chubashenko, who heads the Chisinau opposition publication Moldavskie Vedomosti, does not rule out the annexation of Transnistria to Russia in five to ten years. But Moscow’s indecision may awaken interest in the unrecognized republic on the part of Kyiv. Until 1940, Transnistria, as part of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, was part of the Ukrainian SSR. In Chisinau, there have already been proposals to exchange the Transnistrian region for the southern Ukrainian lands, which until 1940 were part of Bessarabia. Pavel LUKYANCHENKO, Chisinau |
| |
