For the most part Tiraspol, the capital of Transnistria, looks just like any other place in Moldova. There is, however, a prevalence of tanks that creates a different feel from Chisinau and you also see a lot more Russian flags, men in military uniform, and statues of Lenin. The streets also still have names like Lenin Street, Komsomolskaya St, and so on that are left over from Soviet times. When we were walking to catch the bus back in the afternoon there was also an overwhelmingly delicious bread smell permeating the air that was coming from one of the many factories that Transnistria has and Moldova doesn't. Matt suggested that the government probably pumps that smell out artificially in the areas where they own restaurants to get business. The people in power pretty much own everything in Tiraspol though they're pretty well off anyway.
I only got to see the city from the bus because we spent the whole afternoon at the NGO Interaction. I might want to go back another time to walk around some more but we'll see if there's time. The NGO isn't really in the center of the city and it's office is located underground. It's a pretty nice place but super hot and the director's husband was doing construction inside so it was loud with the sound of drilling. All the people were very friendly though and I enjoyed hanging out with them. It was the hotline coordinator's birthday so she brought cake, fruit, and champagne for everyone and we enjoyed that at the end of the day. This is how the system works in Moldova and probably a lot of other places; if it's your birthday, you're expected to bring a bunch of stuff for the office. I kind of like this because no one is ever forgotten and you get to eat cake pretty often if you have a large staff.
I spent some time talking to the director of the NGO and she told me about the difficulties they have with Transnistrian authorities and how other NGOs distance themselves and do not want to collaborate for projects because Interaction is known to have bad relations with the government for the work they do. It's very difficult to get funding and a complicated process because they have to account for the money both in Moldova and Transnistria and it's tough to transfer money because of certain laws. I didn't really understand that whole situation, but did get the gist that the life of an NGO director in Transnistria is often very stressful. Another interesting comment she made is that she doesn't like how the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) heads the roundtables in Transnistria because they have a clear political stance that deters the Transnistrian government from attending and in order for real, sustainable changes to take hold in society the government somehow has to be convinced to play a positive role.
All in all, I liked my little half-day adventure back in time to the Soviet Union. But really, although the territory gives you that feeling with the hammer and sickle visible at the border and the tanks popping up in various places the people there are just like the people living in Moldova. I know a lot of people living in Chisinau who have relatives in Transnistria and they're definitely not a bunch of hardcore communists who would start another civil war if Transnistria were going to join back with Moldova again. There is going to be an election this year and the NGO director said that 5 people are "applying for the job" but she doubts that any changes will come. In fact, she said it's probably better for the dictator Smirnov to stay in power because at least he's predictable and the Russian government can control him.
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