The National Identity, Security, Future Hope and Wellbeing of Young People Living in the Unrecognised State of Transnistria

Abstract

Transnistria is a de-facto state located between the Moldova and Ukraine border that has been stuck in a frozen conflict with Moldova over its sovereignty for over 30 years. We conducted interviews with young people living in the region to gain an understanding of their sense of national identity, feelings of security, hopes for the future and overall wellbeing. Participants shared their views on the difficult times experienced in the region as a result of the war in neighbouring Ukraine, while also sharing on difficulties associated with securing stable employment and general economic challenges.

Introduction

The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), or Transnistria as it is otherwise referred to,¹ is a narrow stretch of land located between the Moldova/Ukraine border. Established in 1990 as the ‘Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic’ within the Soviet Union (Kosienkowski, 2022), the region descended into armed conflict with Moldova over its independence during the time of the Soviet Union’s disintegration in the early 1990s (Colbey, 2022). With Transnistrian forces heavily assisted by the Russian military (Chamberlain-Creanga & Allin, 2010) the conflict ended after more than twenty months of fighting with a ceasefire agreement in July 1992. Transnistria has been stuck in a frozen conflict with Moldova over its sovereignty ever since (Blakkisrud & Kolstø, 2011). Moldova’s shift towards adopting the Romanian language over Russian as its national language, along with aligning itself towards Europe (and away from Russia), have been considered the main reasons for the conflict (Cojocaru, 2006; Sanchez, 2009). Russia has historically had significant influence in the Transnistrian region, dating back to the early nineteenth century when the territory was annexed by the Russian empire and named Bessarabia (Colbey, 2022, p. 56). Today the self-governed Transnistria controls over 12 percent of Moldova’s eastern territory, including what are recognised as the region’s most industrialized areas (O’Loughlin et al., 2013).² The region continues to house an estimated 1000 Russian peacekeeping troops, as well as a large quantity of Soviet era ammunition and weaponry, and receives generous financial support from Russia (Colbey, 2022).

With its governmental headquarters located in the capital city of Tiraspol, Transnistria’s independence is not recognised by any other United Nations state. Instead, its sovereignty is acknowledged only by the equally unrecognised states of Abkhazia and South Ossetia (both located within the borders of Georgia) (O’Loughlin et al., 2014). As Cojocari et al. (2019) write, despite the continued claim of sovereignty by the Republic of Moldova over this territory, the control and political influence held in the region by Moldovan institutions is minimal (p. 8). The region instead has its own elected parliament, military, currency, and its resident population of roughly 300,000 inhabitants all possess a Transnistrian national passport, often in conjunction with either a Russian, Moldovan or Romanian passport (Kolosov & Crivenco, 2021).

Despite three decades of separation, little development has been made towards a resolution to this frozen conflict and/or reunification with Moldova, and in September 2020 the State celebrated its 30th anniversary of self-proclaimed independence (Potter, 2022). Early commentaries on the region are noted as popularly labelling it as ‘the last bastion of the Soviet Union’ and somewhat of a ‘black hole’ within Europe (Bobbick, 2011, pp. 240–241). Such commentaries commonly accuse the region of money laundering, drug trafficking, and as a hub for smuggling goods (Sanchez, 2009). These allegations tend to be consistent across other de facto states (Bobbick, 2011), with some scholars claiming that ongoing separatism can be of benefit to particular groups, who profit from the continuation of conflict either economically, or by the increased levels of power that separatism allows for (Blakkisrud & Kolstø, 2011; King, 2001).

Much has changed within the region across its three decades of de-facto independence. Blakkisrud and Kolstø (2011) note that across this time span and despite the lack of official recognition, the subsequent processes of ‘nation building’ has led Transnistria to develop towards ‘something akin to fully fledged statehood’ (p. 182). At a personal level, this is understood as been reflected through feelings of belonging and loyalty among the population, as well as within the development of a Transnistrian national identity (Cojocaru, 2006). Further to these changes in nationalistic perception, scholars have pointed to a number of newfound freedoms that have emerged for Transnistrian residents over the previous decade (O’Loughlin et al., 2013). These include a greater passage of tourists, easier access across the border with the Republic of Moldova (O’Loughlin et al., 2013), and the reconnection of the telephone network between the two regions (Wolff, 2011). Furthermore, while the press is largely state controlled, access to social media channels including Facebook and Twitter have enabled easy access to global news. These liberties have allowed citizens in modern Transnistria an increased engagement with the outside world, and are contrary to the previously tightly controlled border and information policies that once prevailed in the region. Despite these increased freedoms enabling Transnistrian citizens to connect with broader Europe, they may also however more clearly illuminate some of the disadvantages that come with living in an unrecognised State. As Ker-Lindsay and Berg (2018) write: ‘De facto states, by their very nature, stand outside the established international system’, and subsequently exist as entities ‘ostracised by the community of sovereign states’ (p. 336). Such ostracization comes with many barriers to international engagement for breakaway regions with the international community (Caspersen, 2018). Specific to the case of Transnistria, these disadvantages include challenges of international travel, a lack of recognition of Transnistrian education and qualifications, and economic difficulties due to the lack of international trade opportunities (O’Loughlin et al., 2013).

Furthermore, difficulties for the regions people have emerged due to the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine that commenced in February of 2022 (although had origins dating back to 2014 with the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Russian forces). In the wake of the military hostilities in Ukraine, experts expressed concerns about the vulnerability of the Transnistrian region, as well as Moldova (Colbey, 2022), with such concerns heightened when on the 26th of April, 2022, multiple explosions damaged Transnistria’s State Security Building in Tiraspol (Sauer, 2022).³ Indeed, past research has shown that young people living within conflict affected areas experience significant psychological distress (Dar & Deb, 2022), as well as enduring psychological trauma and anxiety, even when they are removed from conflict riddled regions (Alotaibi, 2021). In addition to the psychological effects related to the threat of warfare, the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine has led to the enforcement of a range of restrictive policies been implemented in the region. A 2016 report on the effects the conflict between Russia and Ukraine was having at the time on Transnistria, identifies a number of policy and geopolitical issues the conflict was having on the region. These issues include increased border controls, entry bans (into Ukraine) for people with Russian citizenship and a ban on Russian military transports travelling through Ukrainian territory (Fischer, 2016), all of which have been exacerbated since the 2022 invasion.

Little research has been undertaken in relation to how these recent policy and security threats, as well as the disadvantages that accompany living within a de facto state, may affect the everyday lives of Transnistria people. Blakkisrud and Kolstø (2011) note that one reason for this lack of literature, is the lack of reliable and accessible data in de facto states. To this point, King (2001) adds that Transnistria along with Eurasia’s other de facto states are ‘informational black holes’, due to difficulties associated with carrying out fieldwork and participant recruitment in such regions (p. 550). Furthermore, research into the region is heavily weighted towards the unresolved conflict and broader relations with Moldova, rather than the day-to-day experiences of the people living within the region.

A few exceptions to this exist, with one being the work of Cojocaru (2006), who conducted qualitative interviews with students at Tiraspol University focussed on their sense of national identity. Cojocaru’s (2006) findings indicated that there was an emerging national consciousness developing in the minds of young people in the region, with most of the respondents viewing Transnistria as ‘a multinational republic’, regardless of its lack of recognition (p. 268). This led Cojocaru to conclude by suggesting that the Transnistrian administration has ‘succeeded in instilling loyalty and feelings of belonging among the population’ (p. 268), arguing that this has developed a mentality of ‘Transnistrization’.

Later work from O’Loughlin et al. (2013) analysed survey data collected in the region to show that young people living in both Moldova and Transnistria felt let down by their respective governments, and that they were ‘open to a new “governing system” when it came to the way they were been governed’ (p. 248). The young participants felt particularly aggrieved about the lack of financial opportunities they had to attain secure work and to travel abroad. In discussing these findings. The authors draw on the earlier work of Fomenko (2009) to theorise that young adults within Transnistria felt ‘frustrated and alienated by the PMR political system’ and frequently looked for opportunities to migrate abroad.

Wagemakers (2014) conducted interviews with young Transnistrians, seeking to learn how they frame their national identity. Distinguishing between participants of Slavic background as well as ethnic Moldovan background, respondents from ethnic Moldovan backgrounds universally mentioned the ‘illegal’ and ‘fictional’ character of the state. As one such participant shared: ‘Transnistria is an invented people, and not like a country, it’s a product of Soviet colonisation and propaganda’ (p. 53). Despite this, respondents frequently expressed negative sentiments towards the West, critical of the values of consumerism and immorality they associated with it.

More recently Cojocari et al. (2019) used an opinion poll as well as in-depth interviews to report that the Transnistrian population were not satisfied with their quality of life, employment opportunities, and Transnistria’s lack of recognition. Interestingly, the authors also reported Moldova as having ‘little to no presence in the socio-political and cultural lives’ of people living in the region (p. 75). Furthermore, the Russian media they received in the area was deemed the most trustworthy source of information they had access to, followed by local sources, with both outlets scoring well ahead of sources from Moldova.

The Present Study

Building on these past findings, this research aims to provide a snapshot of the lives and experiences of young people living in the unrecognised region of Transnistria, three decades on from its de-facto independence from Moldova. Given this time span, the views and experiences of young people aged 18–35, who would largely have no first-hand lived experience of living within a unified Moldovan state, seem particularly relevant. Specific to this view, Cojocaru (2006) writes that later generations of Transnistrian young people have been brought up and educated within the ‘spirit of ‘Transnistrization’, and in spite of its international recognition, are not aware of any other reality than that of the existence of a ‘Transnistrian state’ (p. 262). Understanding these views within the context of the recent turbulence in Ukraine brings additional significance to these findings. Furthermore, as Blakkisrud and Kolstø (2011) note, most of the literature on the Transnistrian region has focused on the unresolved conflict with Moldova (p. 179), while little research has paid attention to the experiences of the people that live within this region. The current research therefore aims to contribute to an understanding of young Transnistrians’ aspirations for the future, sense of security, national identity, and overall wellbeing and life satisfaction. In doing so we aim to provide insights into the experiences and potential challenges faced by young people living in unrecognised states.

The Research Approach

Within the context outlined above, we seek to advance a deeper understanding of life within the Transnistrian state, and specifically the experiences and wellbeing of young people who live within it. To do this, we interviewed participants who were currently living in the Transnistria region (Transnistrian citizens or permanent residents) aged between 18 and 35, from July 2022 to July 2023. This participant group enabled us to capture the experiences of young people and situate their responses within the broader cultural context of twenty-first-century life in Transnistria, inclusive of its political, economic and security orientated factors, and an unrecognised state more broadly.

Participants

A total of 10 semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with participants aged 20–34 (Mage = 25.8). Eight interviews were conducted online, and two interviews were conducted face-to-face in Transnistria. Nine interviews were conducted in English, while one was conducted in Russian with the aid of an interpreter. Of these participants, six were male and four were female including two from rural locations and eight from major cities. Two of the participants were full-time undergraduate university students, while eight were working full time. A total of two participants lived at home with their parent/s or guardian/s, while the remaining eight lived away from their family home.

Procedure

Participants were recruited via online message boards, contacts held by the authors with young people in the region, as well as through the assistance of a consultant in the region, and lastly by implementing the ‘snowballing’ method of participant recruitment. Verbal informed consent was obtained prior to the commencement of the interviews, and the study was approved by the University Human Research Ethics Committee at the institution where the study was conducted (ethics project number: 32432).

Questions were broadly framed, so that an open conversation about participant’s experiences of living in Transnistria, inclusive of their sense of patriotism and pride towards the region, their opinions on the region’s future prospects and current successes, as well as their own hopes for the future (including whether they desired to keep on living in Transnistria), could be facilitated. An example of some of the questions included the following: How long have you lived in Transnistria?; Do you plan to stay in Transnistria into the future?; Do you think things are going in the right direction for Transnistria? (socially and/ or economically); What country do you identify with as your home country?; How do you feel regarding your home country—patriotic/indifferent/etc?; What are your aspirations for the future, career and otherwise?; If there is anything that you could change about your life what would it be?

Analysis Method

The interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and read several times to gain a comprehensive understanding of the participants responses. The first stage of the analysis process involved manually coding transcripts by identifying common topics among the responses from the 10 participants. Following this, a thematic data analysis was undertaken as described by Braun and Clarke (2012). The data was then analysed for common major themes. This approach provided an understanding from the lived experience of Transnistrian young people including their sense of national identity and their hopes for the future.

Findings: Personal Orientations Towards Transnistria

A number of questions were used to capture an understanding of participants personal feelings and connection to Transnistria, including What country do you identify with as your home country?; Do you think things are going in the right direction for Transnistria? (socially and/or economically)? and How do you feel regarding your home country—patriotic/indifferent/etc.? Responses indicated that participants largely identified Transnistria as their home country, although some felt a sense of apprehension in sharing this, such as one participant who stated:

That is a very hard question. I believe it is actually Transnistrian, but it is not something that I would clearly identify myself with. Because I can say that I relate somehow a little bit to Moldovan culture, mostly to Ukrainian, somewhat to Russian. But I cannot say that any of those countries are my home country. (23-year-old male)

Others were more forthcoming stating: ‘Yeah, I can identify Pridnestrovia being my homeland’ (22-year-old male), and ‘Yes, Pridnestrovia is my home country’ (22-year-old female), and ‘I would like to say that I am Pridnestrovian because I was born here and I will live here all my life’ (24-year-old male). A smaller sample of participants were more dismissive, despite stating that they had lived in the region their whole lives, as one such participant shared: ‘I don’t feel that Transnistria is my home country, I don’t feel that it’s my home. I understand that it’s the country in which I was born. That’s all. It’s not a cultural connection, it’s not my cultural roots’ (30-year-old male), and another:

No, I can’t say that. I love my country. I love where I was born. I love this place, but I think it would be better to be born somewhere else, like in Europe or in the US. I like the USA and I like this culture … It’s a country where you can develop, you can make decent money and you can be whatever you want to be. (29-year-old female)

These orientations towards the Transnistrian region as their homeland were expanded on when participants were asked about how connected they felt to Transnistria, and whether they felt any patriotic connections to the region. Participants largely indicated that they felt a patriotic connection to the area, as one such respondent shared:

I can say that I feel proud of my country because definitely now, my country has developed really well, really rapidly, I could say. I am not indifferent because if you live in any country, it’s your homeland and you must have some feelings to it. (22-year-old male)

Many others shared this patriotic connection, however also grieved for its current and future prospects. As one participant shared:

Oh yeah, I certainly do. I believe that is a patriotic connection, but because things go in a very bad way, it makes me sad to think about it. Right now, my feelings toward it is that it’s too late to do anything, so it’s becoming more indifferent. (23-year-old male)

Another participant stated: ‘I can say that I love my relatives, I like our nature, but I just don’t like our development, what is going on here, and of course because of that, I want to move’ (22-year-old female), while another participant stated: ‘I don’t feel indifferent about it because it’s my home country. Tiraspol is my hometown and I want to think things would be better. I think it has to change a lot’ (20-year-old female). A further participant shared:

I would say something neutral. I was born here; I love this place. It is calm, life is calm here. People who have lived in big cities, for example, Moscow, they come back here and they feel like everything here is bad, too slow … But yeah, I like it. It is calm. When you consider that it’s a Soviet Union monument, a lot of stuff here is too old. It’s good but it’s developing too slow. It doesn’t evolve. (24-year-old male)

Others were more forthcoming in denying any patriotic feelings towards the region, as one such participant shared: ‘Definitely not patriotic. I deny all about the military and everything. I reject it. I don’t feel Transnistrian, Romanian or Russian. I don’t belong here, I feel like a person of the world. American I’d like to say’ (28-year-old male). More bluntly, after slightly reframing the question for translation reasons, when asked how they feel about been Transnistrian, another shared:

I feel offended, because many years ago, in 1992, Russian soldiers and the Russian government take away my future. They take away my normal life. They stole my future and give me Transnistria and say, “Now you are Transnistrian. You have a fake passport. You have a fake education. You have a fake life because nothing of this is real. It's fake. It’s very bad and it’s a shame for me. I cannot fix it. I cannot fix the history. (30-year-old male)

Participants were then asked whether or not they thought things were going in the right direction for the region, politically, socially, economically and otherwise. Here participants gave mixed reports around the social direction of Transnistria. When it came to the economic progress of the region however, unanimously they felt however that things were not heading in the right direction, as one participant commented:

I can say 50/50 because in some political ways it’s not so good, but that’s just a problem of the world. And for social, it’s really good. Our country developed different jobs, different wages and it’s quite good. The economy in our country is quite, I could say, strange because it depends only on one, big enterprise and I think that’s not so cool. I think in future, something must be changed a bit. (22-year-old male)

Another participant further lamented the economic developments present in their region, as well as the slow pace at which they identified them as travelling at:

Maybe they are moving but pretty slow. Our salaries aren’t big enough and that’s the problem. I would like to stay here but I would like to have the ability to travel. Salaries here are too small for this. So that’s the problem: how to live here and gain enough money to maintain good life quality. (24-year-old male)

While a further participant explained that while things were not heading in the right direction economically, socially things were improving on the back of the younger generations hopes to improve the region:

I think economically, not. What about the social parts? I think the young generation … they are interested in something and they study and they try to improve the things that are going on here. I know some people who are really into the things they are doing, and they want to stay here and continue to work in this field and to develop this field in our country. (20-year-old female)

A further few participants were more stark in their assessment of the region, detailing the hardship they perceived around them:

No, everything goes completely in the wrong direction. Economically, it wasn’t really good, but when the war started it became extremely bad here so that even people that were considered to be rich here suddenly became poor. At some period, people couldn’t afford normal food here. The same happened for me, but then the situation somewhat stabilised, but still, economically, it’s hard to live here. Socially, it is also going in a bad direction because people get politically polarised and whatever social connections people have, at some point, they get caught up on politics and sometimes even families get torn apart because of that. (23-year-old male)

Another participant pointed to some specific factors they saw that hint at things not going in the right direction for the region: ‘It doesn’t look like the right development because we have a low level of medicine, we have a lot of suffering pensioners. It just doesn’t look like the right direction’ (22-year-old female). A number of other participants detailed political issues in the region, including corruption and an overreliance on Russia:

Transnistria is dependent on Russia a lot and many people really love Russia’s president, which is really bad. And people just don’t understand what he really does, what he’s really doing right now, and they really think that he is saving some people in Ukraine. (29-year-old female)

Another commented on the corruption they saw within the country as being a big issue for the country’s prospects:

This level of disrespect of rules in Transnistria. Not a long time ago was killed, one person who was involved in politics. He was a politician, but in opposition. But in the news, it was like, he was killed because he’s trying to steal. Nothing really happened though. But it was murder … There are some guys on the top who decide what is right and what is wrong. I don’t accept it. I don’t like it. (28-year-old male)

Aspirations for the Future

The next series of questions centred on participants aspirations for the future, inclusive of their career objectives, as well as whether they hoped to stay in Transnistria in the future. Participants aspirations for the future were largely focused on career aspirations, as were hopes of starting a family. As one participant shared: ‘Of course, making a family, a big one actually. Plus getting a job as a translator … a famous interpreter maybe one day, maybe an interpreter for some president. Who knows?’ (22-year-old male). Some participants also shared their desire for the future involved moving abroad:

Someday I’m going to find a woman and create a family and have kids. About (my career expectations), it’s a difficult question and it’s a problem, maybe not a huge one but still a problem because here in Pridnestrovia, it is hard to find a place for career growth in my profession. And salaries are pretty low. So often the situation looks like, if you want to gain more money, you have to leave the country. For some people there is an option to work in Moldova, in Chisinau maybe, and live in Transnistria or something like that. So maybe this is an option to find some pharmaceutical company in Moldova, for example. Or maybe I would have to change my profession someday, I don’t know. (24-year-old male)

Another revealed that their desires centred around living in a ‘safer’ and more stable environment:

I want my family to live in a safe country. I want that in the future I’m not afraid about war, not afraid about crisis. I want to be happy and work. I want to work and be happy. I don’t want to think about these problems, only work and family. (30-year-old male)

Participants generally expressed desires to leave the region, despite in some cases wishing to stay. For example:

I don’t want to leave Pridnestrovia. I don’t have this active desire to leave it and go to the other country. But maybe I will try to live in a different place. For now, I don’t have strict plans for leaving it, so my plan is to stay. (24-year-old male)

Another participant expressed a more proactive response: ‘I’m trying to make documents, which are legal everywhere and just leave this place and move somewhere else. Ideally, it would be here, but right now, it doesn’t seem to be possible, so most preferably abroad’ (23-year-old male). Another indicated that they desired to stay in Transnistria and take physical care of their family as their parents got older. However, they explained a further challenge with not earning enough money to do so.

I think I would like to come back because I have parents here and my relatives who will be old and I want to live with them. But I also want to help them, and to help them I have to earn more money, to start my career.

Follow-up questions were then asked:

so you feel like, by going abroad, you’d be able to earn the sort of money you need to help them back in Pridnestrovia, and you feel there is not the opportunity for you to do that in Pridnestrovia at the moment?

to which the participant responded ‘Yes. Many people now leave the country for this purpose, to work in Europe and to save money and to help their families’ (22-year-old female).

When asked if they could live in any other country, where would they choose and why, participants expressed a desire to move to broader Europe, including the Balkans region, Russia, as well as Western Europe. For some, moving to another Eastern European country was a convenient choice for them, due to the cultural and linguistic similarities. One respondent remarked: ‘I believe it would be somewhere either in Eastern Europe or in the Balkans, because those cultures are, in general, all of these countries in those regions are culturally close to us and to me personally’ (23-year-old male). Along similar lines, another stated:

Difficult to say exactly the country because I don’t have a lot of experience of travel. But the easiest option is Russia because of language, because my language is Russian. I’d like to try to live somewhere in Europe. I cannot say where exactly right now. (24-year-old male)

Others expressed a desire to move to Western Europe for opportunities. For example:

I think it could be France or Belgium because I know French. In France, there is a great social support for citizens, for people. In our country, that is not developed. I hope it will be possible to move to Europe because I know a lot of people, well not a lot, but a few of my friends, they moved to Europe after they studied here. (20-year-old female)

Another was unsure where they desired to move, however was sure their future was not in Transnistria: ‘A difficult question. To be honest, I don’t really know where I want to live yet but this is definitely not Pridnestrovia. Of course I want to move, like many other people’ (22-year-old female). Another shared a desire to move in order for their child to have a brighter future:

There are many problems here with our documents. It's not comfortable for me. In this country there is very little money for living … I want to live in Moldova or Europe, America, Germany, or other countries as well. More than Transnistria. I want a more comfortable level of life and I want my son to have real future and real life. (26-year-old female)

Feelings of Security

Participants were asked how they would describe their life, inclusive of their satisfaction with it, and whether if they could change anything about it, what would that be. When it came to participants perceptions of their life, and how it was going, participants generally indicated that they were satisfied of their current situation. As one participant shared:

Actually, I am satisfied. My life isn’t luxury, of course, but I feel pretty safe and I can make enough money to maintain my life. I have somewhere to live, I have food to eat, I can rest. So, from that point, I am pretty satisfied. I consider that my life is on a decent level. But, of course, I know that I can get a more qualified life, if I can say it like that. So in the future, for sure, I want to earn more money. Maybe I want to buy a house in the future to raise my children in a better place and afford myself decent vacations somewhere. In this moment, it’s a difficult question because I don’t have a complete plan how to do it. (24-year-old male)

Another shared:

I think I have a very ordinary life, like every student. I study, I work, I meet my friends but it’s enough for me now. I like seeing my friends, I like spending time with them, I like to go somewhere in Pridnestrovia. We have beautiful places; we love doing this. (20-year-old female)

While a further response expressed this same satisfaction, however indicated that this satisfaction was due to their employment been remote and in Russia, and therefore of a higher salary:

Yes, I can say that I like my job, I have money to rent a flat and buy what I want. So yes, I am satisfied. But it’s because I don’t work in Pridnestrovia, I work in Russia. So my salary is higher. (22-year-old female)

Another participant expressed a more neutral response to their satisfaction with life, by stating:

Well, it’s hard to tell whether it’s good or bad because those things are very relative. Because right now, there are a lot of people that I can say are our neighbours, who live a lot worse than I do. But there’s also people somewhere in the world that are living better. So I guess it’s somewhere in the middle, but it still could be better and there is something to strive for. (23-year old male)

When it came to things participants identified that they would like to change in their lives, participants shared a number of things to do with their employment and study situation that they would like to be different. As one such participant shared:

Actually, I wouldn’t go to this university as I’m not satisfied by the quality of education and perspectives this particular university gives to me. It is what is in my head now because I am about to graduate, and I am so tired of it. I will graduate for sure, but those last steps, I don’t like it actually. Maybe I could have used those five years to build something different in my life. I don’t want to say that this university is completely bad because there are good specialists who graduated in different specialities. But in my case, I’m disappointed. (24-year-old male)

A further few participants mentioned that relocation to another country was the one thing they wish they could change about their life: ‘Country maybe. I really want to try to live in another country. It’s my dream and I really want to change it’ (22-year-old female), while another lamented Transnistria’s lack of recognition as the thing they desired to change: ‘I think that the problem and the thing that should be changed is our recognition. We are unrecognised and that is the main problem’ (20-year-old female). Another shared: ‘Country of origin’, the interviewer then asked a follow up question ‘So where you were born, you would change that?’, to which the participant responded:

Definitely. It is much easier to succeed when you live somewhere where there is opportunity. Here, you have to run very fast to just stay in the same situation. I mean, not literally. Do you know what I mean? If you were born in the USA, when you’re a teenager, you can work somewhere to make your first money. Here, if you’re a teenager, you can’t work because there is no work for you. Even if you graduate from the university and you have a degree, you can’t find a job because they require some experience … It’s a vicious circle. It’s very difficult to make some decent money in Transnistria and to live a normal life. (29-year-old female)

In the last stages of the interview, participants were asked about the things that made them feel less safe secure in their daily life, as well as more safe and secure in their daily life. Here participants frequently mentioned the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine as a threat to their individual safety and security. As one participant bluntly responded: ‘I guess it’s any news about war, it makes me feel insecure’ (22-year-old female). Another commented: ‘The thing that makes me feel insecure is the war in Ukraine. It influences us a lot because of geographical location. Our country in general is between Ukraine and Moldova’ (24-year-old male). A number of other respondents provided more vivid responses on how this conflict was affecting them, for example:

Sometimes I have nightmares that I’m under bombs and I see explosions, or some planes are flying to my house. It’s so real. Sometimes I have these nightmares because I saw it. It was far away, but it felt so close because I saw these explosions. I heard the sound of the explosion. And I’m afraid of that. (29-year-old female)

Another had similar fears around the prospect of conflict in the region, fears which existed before the time of the Ukrainian conflict:

I wake up and I think, oh, are Russian soldiers coming into my home today. Or no. Have they started to use the rockets in my town, or no? And it’s very difficult because every morning, every evening, every day I think about this. Everyday it’s thoughts about war … Sometimes, at night, I listen to the explosions on the street. Maybe it’s a dog, maybe it’s somebody closing the door. And I listen to explosions, but I sit in the bed and think was it military explosions, or it was somebody’s dog? And it’s very difficult. It’s so difficult to live in this position. (30-year-old male)

The above participant added that threats of the ‘KGB’ and arbitrary arrests were a further concern when it came to thoughts about safety and security. Another participant believed that despite the situation in Ukraine, the level of security and safety in Transnistria was sound:

Security in our country is actually quite good and I think this situation in the Ukraine, it’s a bit complicated. I hope that it will be dealt as soon as possible. And I can say thank you to the government of my state that they help refugees from Ukraine to stay in our country, to find asylum, to give warmth to them, to give them some money. That’s quite good. (22-year-old male)

While another participant commented on the uncertainty that comes with living in an unrecognised country as a key reason for their feelings of insecurity:

To live in this country, it’s not safe because we're not a real country. On the left, we are near Moldova, which wants Transnistria to come back. And we think that Moldova can’t do it (regain Transnistria) without war. On the right, we have Ukraine, in which war goes on and maybe war comes to us, and it's not safe. I don't know what will be the future with this country and how we will be, and it’s not comfortable to live in uncertainty, there is no stability. (26-year-old female)

Another respondent commented:

The part with Moldova, I would say it’s a bit difficult. The political instability makes me insecure. The insecurity mostly comes from the fact that there’s a lot of things we can’t really see what’s going to happen in the future. And that is a bit stressful at times. That includes the war in Ukraine, obviously, that includes the political situation. But that includes also, for example, like the country is sort of still dependent on Russian support. And that’s also some facts that can make life very uncertain. What if the Russian support is withdrawn? Anything can happen like that. That’s the main source of insecurity I would say. (34-year-old male)

To this response the interviewer asked a follow up question, ‘If Transnistria was to get its independence from Moldova, would you feel more comfortable, more secure, given you mentioned that instability makes you feel a little bit insecure?’ To which the participant replied:

Yeah, I think it would definitely make everybody happier here, especially if the independence is gained in a friendly way, which means without a conflict, without a war, just mutual agreement. Definitely that would make the situation much, much, much better. That would solve all the bureaucratic problems, for example, of administration and democratic problems. That would solve probably the logistic problems, that would remove the big threat on the on the peace and stability of the region. So that would definitely be a big factor.

Further participants commented on the economic challenges that exist in the region as a factor that made them feel less safe and secure in their life, as one participant stated:

I think the thing that makes me a bit insecure is the fact that I can stay here and I cannot get a job that I wanted to get. Maybe that’s my future job, if I stay here, that makes me insecure, but it motivates me very much. I have also mentioned (earlier) that some people couldn't afford buying normal food. The reason why it mainly feels unsafe when there are signs of some bad events in the long term, is because in the short-term we usually rely on our families, so even when people cannot buy food in supermarkets or pay rent, they are likely to have relatives in villages that have a garden or a farm and could help with food, or have a space to live. So you always know that in case of disaster the lowest line would be not as great a life as you might wish, but you would not starve to death or anything. That might be the reason why feeling safe relies upon your friends and family being safe and well, because together people can sort things out. (23-year-old male)

This notion of relying on one’s family and friends as a source of personal safety and security resonated across participants responses. As one such participant responded: ‘my family (make me feel safe and secure). We are together, we support each other’ (20-year-old female). Another reflected this importance on friends and family by sharing: ‘It’s support from my family, from my friends’ (22-year-old female), while another commented: ‘That’s a complicated question. In terms of safety, I guess, it’s just to have a place to stay and knowing that my friends and family are okay, they are safe and secure’ (23-year-old male).

Discussion

The current study aimed to contribute an exploratory snapshot into the lives and wellbeing of young people living in the unrecognised state of Transnistrian. In doing so, it builds on the understanding of the experiences and potential challenges faced by young people living in de facto states. After three decades of quasi-independence, the young people interviewed in this study represented varied feelings towards, and satisfactions with life in, modern Transnistria. Some participants pointed to an attachment to the region, resonating with Transnistria as their homeland, and speaking positively of its natural beauty and recent progresses. Many also however cited challenges specific to securing stable employment, a lack of economic development and opportunity, as well as security threats—both internal and external—as major challenges they faced in their everyday lives. These were challenges that led many to share they felt they had no choice but to aspire to seek greener pastures abroad. The proximity for these young people to the conflict in Ukraine seems to have added a layer of complexity to life in the region, with this frequently cited as a serious threat to participants security and sense of stability.

Most participants in our study are not old enough to have had firsthand experience of living through the conflict in Transnistria, however all would be familiar with the scars that it has left around the region. These include buildings that continue to exhibit bullet holes, military memorials displayed in honour of the conflict, as well as the presence of Russian peace-keeping troops throughout the region. Such frequent reminders of warfare may be responsible for the participants views and fears regarding the likelihood of a future conflict, a possibility of course exacerbated by the conflict taking place only miles away in Ukraine. Furthermore, despite the efforts in the region to build a sense of Transnistrian nationalism as identified in past research (Bobbick, 2011; Cojocaru, 2006), participants identified a clear number of deficits and dissatisfactions towards life in unrecognised Transnistria. Consistent with past findings (Cojocari et al., 2019), these included the economic and employment barriers present within the region, as well as the general uncertainty living in such an insecure position reflects.

Limitations

Our small sample size is a clear limitation of our study. However, Blakkisrud and Kolstø (2011) note, there are many ‘difficulties associated with doing research on de facto states’ (p. 179). The authors go on to list some of these difficulties including government censorship and at times the illegality of conducting research in such places. Subsequently, there is a limited access to participants, a reluctance for participants to engage in research, and bureaucratic challenges specific to undertaking fieldwork in the region. Such barriers made obtaining a more comprehensive sample challenging, with this perhaps enhanced by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the consequent hesitancy of people living within Transnistria to talk to outside sources. Nonetheless, as Hennink and Kaiser (2022) note regarding small qualitative sample sizes, ‘saturation can be achieved in a narrow range of interviews (9–17) or focus group discussions (4–8), particularly in studies with relatively homogenous study populations’ (p. 9). A further limitation of our study is that our sample was made up of largely English-speaking participants rather than Russian-speaking. The findings cannot be generalised, but rather they provide insights to the lives of young people living in Transnistria.

Conclusions

In spite of these limitations, we believe our findings share valuable and important insight into the experiences of an under-researched population. This research intended to hold no political agenda. Rather, its focus was to illuminate the stories and narratives of young people living in the separatist region of Transnistria. Thus, whatever the future holds for the political and national status of the region, our findings indicate the importance of the international community not neglecting to listen to people’s stories within Transnistria. Research has argued that Transnistria now has an entrenched sense of national identity and established nationhood (Bobbick, 2011), thus the likelihood of a reunification with Moldova seems unlikely. Given Moldova’s claims to the territory, as well as its geographical position, absorption into Russia also is an unlikely outcome (despite research indicating this would be a preferred option for some Transnistrian people, see: Cojocari et al., 2019). A possible exception to this is the outcome of the war in Ukraine, which will likely be influential in shaping the regions prospects. Depending on the outcome of the war, one potential outcome that has been theorised is a landbridge been opened up between Russia and Transnistria. With the Moldovan Parliament avidly pursuing membership of the European Union, this potential accession to the EU is a further variable that will likely be influential in shaping young people’s views about life in Transnistria. Based on the above responses, this is an outcome that would likely further endear some young people towards a reunification with Moldova, while polarising others. Given these uncertainties and the highly contrasting futures the region may face, it is important for policy makers to pay attention to the stories and needs of the young people living within such circumstances, and to do so within the broader context they find themselves within. At a time of increasing instability throughout Europe, listening to young people’s stories from divergent locations across the continent seems as important as ever.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ashley Humphrey

Dr Ashley Humphrey holds a PhD in Psychology from Monash University, and currently works as a lecturer in the Psychological Sciences at Federation University. His work focusses on how different cultural and political environments influence a person’s beliefs, world views and well-being, with a particular focus on youth populations.

Helen Forbes-Mewett

Dr Helen Forbes-Mewett is an Associate-Professor of Sociology in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University. Her research focuses on human security, resilient communities, migration, cultural diversity, and social integration. Much of this research has related to international students, migrant populations, and vulnerable and resilient populations.

Notes

1 Blakkisrud and Kolstø (2011) highlight that the region is referred to by different names: Transnistria in English, Pridnestrovia in Russian, and officially as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. Unless otherwise stated by participants in the results section, for reasons of consistency, we will use ‘Transnistria’ throughout this article.

2 O’Loughlin et al. (2013) note that during Soviet times, the Transnistrian region was designated as an area for heavy industry, while broader Moldova was to be focussed on agricultural production. The authors add that this focus on industrialisation in Transnistria throughout the time of the Soviet Union led to the migration of large numbers of skilled workers from Russia to the region to assist with the construction and operations of factories, while Moldova relied on agricultural labour from its local population. They write that this industrial–agricultural split has implications today, by way of having greatly affected the ‘ethno-linguistic makeup and material wealth’ of the two regions (p. 235).

3 As of early 2024 however, no further hostilities have taken place within the region.