Putin's Pridnestrovian Partisan

Putin has long been able to count on strong support from the farthest corners of Russia. But now he's got an even more distant amen corner. Backing VVP up at the recent United Russia party congress was a political leader from a patch of land that - while it's a shorter plane ride from Moscow than Primor'e - isn't even part of Russia.

The presence of PMR Parliament Speaker Evgeny Shevchuk at the United Russia congress as an "official guest" is interesting and not entirely illogical given that by some estimates roughly 25% of Transdniester's 550,000 residents are Russian citizens and thus will be entitled to vote in the upcoming Duma and presidential elections. It's also a mild spit in the face of Moldova's assertion of sovereignty over Transdniester. I've translated two articles from Regnum about this.

"Renewal" party of Transdniester to support United Russia in the Duma elections
Regnum.ru, Oct. 1, 2007, 3:35pm

Representatives of the Transdniester republic party Renewal, led by their leader - the chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Pridnestrovie Еvgenii Shevchuk will participate as official guests in the VIII United Russia party congress, which will open on October 1st at 4pm in Gostiny Dvor in Moscow, reports REGNUM's correspondent.

The congress will be in session for two days. During the congress United Russia and Renewal plan to sign an agreement about cooperation between the two political parties. Evgenii Shevchuk told Regnum that Renewal will support United Russia in the December 2007 Russian Duma elections. "We support [United Russia's] campaign platform - the 'Putin Plan' - and will actively participate in campaigning [будем принимать активное участие в агитации] on the territory of the Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic among citizens who have Russian citizenship and are participating in the Duma elections," said Shevchuk.


Pridnestrovian Parliament Speaker: "Putin's decision is intended to defend the interests of Russian citizens."
Regnum.ru, Oct. 1, 2007, 10:22pm

"The Russian President's decision to head up the federal candidates' list of United Russia suggests that the Russian state will continue to develop in a stable manner," said Pridnestrovie Supreme Soviet Chairman and leader of the Renewal party Evgenii Shevchuk in an interview with a Regnum correspondent on October 1, commenting on Vladimir Putin's agreeing to head United Russia's campaign list.

"In my view, this represents a strengthening of United Russia and a continuation of the dynamic course of development not only of Russia itself, but also the defense of Russian interests and citizens regardless of their country of residence. This decision means that the course will be continued in the future and developed in a qualitatively new way and on a new level. I hope that the party [United Russia] will win a majority of votes in the Duma, which will allow the realization of 'Putin's Plan,'" said Shevchuk.

Shevchuk also emphasized that the ideology of the Pridnestrovian Renewal party and the fundamental ideological underpinnings of United Russia are similar: "We have also always supported the programmatic documents of the Russian President and of this party [United Russia]. Naturally, the Renewal party is interested in signing a mutual interparty agreement and will be active in the campaign as one of the consolidating links around the idea of United Russia's victory in the Duma elections. Renewal will support United Russia in the Russian State Duma elections in December 2007."

As Regnum earlier reported, today, October 1, in a speech at the VIII United Russia party congress in Moscow, Vladimir Putin agreed to head up the party's candidates' list.

Yes, the original articles used "VIII United Russia party congress," and I decided to leave it that way - very nostalgia-inducing. One interesting aspect of this is that even as Putin himself was backing away from "Putin's Plan" (according to Lenta.ru, he "disavowed authorship of the plan" in his remarks at the United Russia congress on October 1) people like Shevchuk were lining up to endorse it as the salvation of Russia - and "compatriots" - everywhere.

Shevchuk's bio on the PMR Supreme Soviet website - interestingly, it identifies him as being born locally - in Rybnitsa - whereas Shevchuk's entry in the list of PMR officials banned from travel to the EU lists him as being born in Novosibirsk.

It looks like another politician from Transdniester is even more directly involved - in a way - in the upcoming Duma elections:

Pridnestrovian politician is in the federal lists of candidates to the State Duma of the Russian Federation
PMR News, Sept. 25, 2007

Active Pridnestrovian politician has been included to the list of candidates of the deputies of State Duma of the Federal Council of Russian Federation. Chairman of the Board of Pridnestrovian “Gasprombank”, Marina Smirnova, has found herself in the regional group number 90 of the party “Fair Russia”(“Spravedlivaya Rossiya”). Marina Smirnova is number two in the list. In case if “Fair Russia” gets more votes in this region, Marina Smirnova may become the deputy of the State Duma of Russian Federation

Although this item appeared on the sketchy pridnestrovie.info website, Fair Russia's website confirms that Smirnova is second on their regional list for the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. Curiouser and curiouser.

[Update Oct 7 - FLB.ru has a list of 122 businesspeople who are on Fair Russia's party list, including Smirnova, and pokes fun at the idea of "bankers for fairness."]

"Radio PMR"

Two Austrian photojournalists who have done some work in Transnistria have placed an interesting collection of photos online. Some of the textual commentary is in German for now, but the photos are interesting nevertheless. It seems to be a fairly personal project (i.e., not as politicized as other online projects relating to Transnistria/Pridnestrovie), and the introductory page proclaims, "This is Radio PMR. News from our little Soviet Union."

The photos are broken into themes or little photo-essays and are organized by a table of contents of sorts. Definitely worth checking out - I was immediately hooked from the photo above, since it deals with the interesting situation of many people in the post-Soviet unresolved conflict areas, who have passports from their de facto state which are useless for international travel; in some cases, identity documents from the metropolitan state (in this case, Moldova); and often, a Russian passport, many of which have been issued based on applicants' tenuous connections to Russia as part of a strategy by Russia to create a basis for its ongoing presence in these regions.

"Passportization" has been a bigger issue in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where the residents were unable to acquire Georgian passports; and less of an issue in Transnistria, since many local residents were able to receive Moldovan travel documents. In these situations, the applicants for Russian passports needed the documents to travel internationally - sometimes to go to work in Russia - and were therefore happy to play along with the game.

Be a teacher - be a hero

Last Thursday, I attended a conference at Georgetown on the resolution of the conflict in Transnistria. I took detailed notes and hope to post a few portions of them here in the coming weeks, final exams notwithstanding. The conference had two panels, one with "civil society" representatives and the other with officials - mainly ambassadors - from all of the entities involved in the (non-existent at the moment) 5+2 format talks except for the OSCE and the Transnistrian de facto government itself. Out of all the people who spoke, the most impressive and inspiring was an educator who had travelled all the way from Transnistria to tell his story in Washington:

Alexei Catan, head of the Evrica NGO and Lyceum in Rybnitsa, located in Transnistria, was introduced by Vlad Spanu as one of the “true heroes,” someone who has stayed put in Transnistria and fought for reintegration with Moldova.

Catan started his remarks by noting that he represents around 700 parents as well as all of the schools located in Transnistria which still follow the right-bank Moldovan curriculum. This includes seven lyceums which on matters of curriculum answer to Chisinau and teach in Romanian using the Latin alphabet. Since 1989, Catan said, he has taught only using the Latin alphabet, but in 2004 the pressure against doing so in Transnistria reached its apogee. First in Tiraspol, and then in Rybnitsa, the Transnistrian militia destroyed classrooms in Romanian-language schools. Seven parents and one teacher were arrested, tried, and jailed.

The conditions of their imprisonment were difficult to imagine in the 21^st century: 20 to 25 people in an 18-square-meter cell, who had to take turns sleeping and were allowed only two visits per day to a toilet, having to use a bucket in their cell the rest of the time. They were fed only once a day and were not even given enough spoons to eat what they were fed. While Catan never had any dealings with the Soviet authorities, he imagines this might be what treatment at their hands was like. It was a difficult shock for intellectuals who had never had to deal with this type of treatment.

Why did Catan and his colleagues endure this? Because they are citizens of the Republic of Moldova and support the integration of the country; and are willing to do anything possible to make it happen. Transnistrian statistics say that 40% of the population of the region is ethnically Moldovan. However, these people have no access to any kind of media in their own language and are not represented in the government. The only language used in Transnistria is Russian, in spite of the existence of three so-called constitutional languages.

Romanian-speakers do not have the chance to teach their children as they want, and those children are unable to continue their studies in Romanian if they have grown up using only the Cyrillic alphabet. If students want and are able to continue their education in Romanian, they have to go to Chisinau. Graduates of Chisinau universities generally do not want to return to Transnistria and have a difficult time if they decide to do so – diplomas issued in Chisinau are not recognized by the Transnistrian authorities. This is being done specifically to promote Russification and to push the Moldovans out of the region. Moldovans must defend themselves somehow against this policy.

Although the Moldovans in Transnistria are frequently criticized by Chisinau for not doing enough, they vote in Moldovan elections and do as much as possible. The majority of residents of Transnistria are citizens of the Republic of Moldova. Possibly due to pressure from Russia, there has been a recent trend of people renouncing their Moldovan citizenship and taking Russian citizenship. Russia has opened illegal consular offices in Transnistria and quickly grants Russian citizenship to people there without the proper, legally required documentation. Eventually, there will be more Russian citizens in Transnistria than Moldovan citizens, and the situation will be similar to what has happened in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

In addition, residents of Transnistria who are Moldovan citizens are unable to vote in local elections, own businesses, or enjoy other rights unless they accept Transnistrian “citizenship.” Catan stressed that this was a huge infringement on the rights of ethnic Moldovans in Transnistria. Since 1990, they have had to travel outside of the region in order to vote in Moldovan elections; the Transnistrian de facto government has established customs and migration posts on all roads crossing the border between Moldova and Transnistria; these posts impose an entry/exit tax of 8 lei on Moldovan citizens only, which is “humiliating”; and Moldovan citizens are searched at these border crossings.

The town of Rezina is two kilometers from Rybnitsa, and lots of people from Rezina work in Rybnitsa. Every time they cross the border, they have to pay this tax. Also, without Transnistrian “citizenship,” people who work in Transnistria are required to pay income tax to the Transnistrian de facto government at a rate of 35%.

All of this takes place under the supervision of the Russian peacekeeping forces, whose only mission is to preserve the status quo. It is said that there has been no shooting in the region since 1992 thanks to the Russian peacekeepers, but this is no great achievement, because the people on the right bank and the left bank of the Dniester are one people and have no reason to shoot each other. A change to the makeup of the peacekeeping forces would change public opinion so that Transnistrians would realize that the Russian peacekeepers are not doing a good job.

Catan expressed a desire to see the peacekeeping force internationalized but acknowledged that it would of course depend on “higher powers.” He noted that he had experienced the inefficiency of the Russian peacekeeping forces in 2004. They were called twice to help when the Romanian-language educators and parents of schoolchildren were besieged in their school, but they did not resolve the situation.

Catan then spoke about democratization. His point of view is that the Smirnov regime cannot be democratized. He made a few statements on behalf of the members of Transnistrian civil society organizations as their representative. In the West, some people believe that democratization can happen through the development of a civil society. Catan does not believe this is possible in Transnistria, but he still believes that civil society development should be promoted.

Even Transnistrian officials have understood the need to create the impression that civil society is being developed. Unfortunately, the NGOs which exist in Transnistria cannot say a word against the authorities. Last winter, Catan was looking for a representative of a Transnistrian NGO to represent a point of view on a TV show. He was unable to find anyone willing to appear on the air and was told that some of the people he called were visited by the local security services the next day.

People are afraid – even those who want to speak out are fearful of doing so. More support from international organizations is needed for civil society and NGOs in Transnistria that believe in and support integration of the country. In closing, Catan called on everyone present to do everything possible to bring Moldova under the influence of the West.

Tangerines, Moldovans far from home, and a river named Psou

This nearly five-year-old story definitely fits into the "truth is stranger - and sometimes more tragic - than fiction" category:

Tangerine Fever Grips Abkhazia By Inal Khashig on the Psou River
(IWPR Caucasus Reporting Service No.156, 21-Nov-2002)

The "yellow fever" season has begun in Abkhazia.

That is what Abkhaz call the time of year when the tangerine harvest is ripe and thousands of residents of the unrecognised republic flock to its northern border with Russia to trade them.

Since the end of the war with Georgia in 1993, the tangerine trade has become the main source of income for Abkhaz families. With the region's chronic lack of employment, the money they earn in the three months of the season must be enough to sustain them over the rest of the year.

With the border closed to the south, the tangerine traders all head north to the river Psou that divides Abkhazia from Russia. Here on either side of a narrow bridge, the respective customs services have set up posts. [...]

"I could trade my tangerines on the Abkhaz side too, but the price here is much lower than on the Russian side and my family badly needs the extra roubles," said Nadezhda, a woman in her fifties, standing in the long queue.

She said the salary she earned after 30 years teaching as a maths teacher was not enough to live on. Which is why she has to spend her weekends ferrying up to 50 kilogrammes of tangerines in a small cart, made out of an old child's pram. When she has sold her cargo, she generally uses the money to buy food, which is cheaper in Russia.

"My daughter-in-law used to come here," Nadezhda said. "But she developed health problems and the doctors told her that if she did not stop dragging heavy loads, she could not have children. So I took over the tangerines. Otherwise we would have nothing to feed the family." [...]

The most industrious of these traders earn up to 300 roubles (a little less than ten dollars) a day, which in Abkhazia is regarded as a good wage. Over the last two years, they have been joined by people from the North Caucasus and places as far a field as Moldova and Ukraine.

"When I was a child, tangerines were a fantastic treat, but now I can't bear the sight of them," said Svetlana Koditsa, from the town of Beltsy [Bălţi] in Moldova.

Svetlana makes three trips across the border a day before she has something left over from what she pays to cover her accommodation, food and bribes to the police, who, she complains, demand money even from those standing patiently in line.

"You try not to give it to them and they might not let you through," she said angrily. [...]

The whole story is worth a read, as it talks a bit about who profits from the trade and why the problem is intractable - an object study in corruption. I would imagine things have changed for the better since 2002, but perhaps not by much.

I found this story last fall while doing research on Russia's passportization campaign in Abkhazia. The article at one point mentions all of the Abkhazians* who had recently begun to receive Russian passports - and perhaps citizenship, depending on what you think constitutes citizenship. I decided to try to find the story once again and post the part about poor Svetlana from Balti, and it was easy to find - I just googled "Psou tangerine Moldova," and the article was, of course, the first result.

Incidentally, IWPR is a treasure trove of searchable, first-hand reporting by local correspondents. They even publish (online it's in pdf format) a locally oriented newspaper, Panorama, in Georgian and Russian, which turned out to be a good source of citations about Russian economic interests in Abkhazia (e.g., the Moscow Military District renting a Sukhumi resort for use by its personnel) and the local controversy they create; and about some of the ongoing debates in local politics. Of all of the post-Soviet secessionist statlets, Abkhazia seems to have the most developed political culture - elections which even Moscow can't fully control, for example.

For some stunning photos from Abkhazia, check out LJ user kunstkamera's recent set (HT Levan); this railway-themed set from cyxymu (who has many other photos from the region), recently featured at Registan; and of course the set I linked to earlier here.


*I prefer to use a non-ethnic term referring to people of all nationalities who live in Abkhazia, since the ethnic Abkhaz are still not a majority there - even after ethnically cleansing hundreds of thousands of Georgians, they are but a plurality in their own land, which they share with Russians, Armenians, and some returned Georgians. And of course, statistics from the region are unreliable and disputed.