A visit to Pridnestrovie: What life is really like here

Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica may not be paradise on earth but it is certainly not Dante's inferno either. And on balance, you'll be pleasantly surprised when you dig under the surface and discover the truth about Pridnestrovie: What life is really like in this young country, and the facts about the nation which never make it into print. Life is never just black or white, and that goes for life in Pridnestrovie as well ... - As you'll discover when you visit the country for the very first time.

Most commentators on Pridnestrovie have never been to the country. They only recycle what they pick up here and there, and many don't bother to fact-check. Sometimes, however, journalists do come to visit ... in the morning, before heading back to Chisinau or Odessa that same afternoon. What they see during their few hours in Pridnestrovie then forms the basis for their conclusions. They see uniformed border guards who speak a language that they don't understand, they see a couple of old Lenin statues and red stars which we kept for historic reasons, and then decide that "this must be a Stalinist dictatorship"... This is the quick and sensationalist approach which grabs the headlines. But it is also the wrong approach because it doesn't square with reality. To fully understand the dynamic civic life of the country, a less superficial style of reporting is required.

First of all, it helps to speak Russian; the most widely used of Pridnestrovie's three official languages (the other two are Ukrainian and Moldavian). That way, you can read the newspapers and see for yourself that there is no censorship in Pridnestrovie and that freedom of expression is indeed completely free. You can also watch our TV stations, both private and public. There, political debates and criticism often fill the airwaves, as in any other vibrant European democracy.

And, most importantly, a working knowledge of Russian will help you talk to the people in the street: ordinary Pridnestrovians who will be happy to tell you the good, bad and ugly of living in Pridnestrovie. There are no restrictions on talking to anyone, anywhere. You can go where you want and talk to whomever you meet. You don't have a "minder" or a KGB-shadow (they don't exist in Pridnestrovie), and it is legal to take pictures anywhere in the country except at military installations (a normal rule found in most of the world). Speaking of military installations, you will discover when you visit us that they are few and far between. Pridnestrovie is not a militaristic country. Despite wild scare stories to the contrary, we just have the minimum needed for self-defense, a precaution which we took after being on the receiving end of Moldova's surprise invasion in 1992.

In Pridnestrovie alone, there are nearly 600 grassroot groups, NGOs and other civic organizations, dozens of newspapers freely reporting in three languages, several private TV and radio stations, ten religions, and about half a dozen opposition parties. It may be overkill, but at least no one can claim with a straight face that the country does not have an active civil society.
As one Pridnestrovian asked:
" - What more is necessary to show to the world that we are democratic? To register 500 more opposition parties?"

After you have read our newspapers, watched our TV, talked to people on the left and on the right, and taken a load of photos, we would then like for you to stay a couple of days to just kick back and try what life is like in Pridnestrovie on a normal day to day basis. Please don't compare us to the U.S. or to Germany, France or any other large first world country. We are not there yet in terms of material wealth. But do compare us, please, to whatever country you visited before arriving in Pridnestrovie. Compare us to either Moldova or to Ukraine, our two neighbors. When you do the comparison, you will discover that we compare very favorably indeed.

Life in Pridnestrovie is almost upbeat. There is a lot of emphasis on music, and culture in general. People are optimistic on the country's future, and they work hard to make that future a reality. We have low tax rates (a flat tax on income of just 10%) and low unemployment. Salaries are higher than elsewhere in the region. Pensions are paid on time, and our government provides a good quality health care system, for free. Education is also free, and universal. The family unit is strong in Pridnestrovie and religion plays an important role in many Pridnestrovians' lives. Pridnestrovie is a Christian country with religious freedom (for non-Christians), a surge in new churches and a recorded total of ten different faiths or religions.

When you compare us to our neighbors, and especially to Moldova, you will also see that we have a functional government by the people for the people. We have self-government in the true sense of the word, caring deeply for the people and the development of the country. The infrastructure is being repaired and in some cases expanded. Every park in every city is spotless, the whole country is clean and orderly, and environmental protection ranks high on every government agency's list of priorities. These are not promises. They are actual deeds that you can see with your own eyes when you visit us here in Pridnestrovie.

Finally, you might ask "where is the mafyia that I heard about before I came" or "where are all the weapons traffickers?" The answer: Somewhere else, but not in Pridnestrovie. In fact, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone with a gun, not even a gun kept at home. Crime in Pridnestrovie is lower than most other European countries. That's because a lot of pridnestrovians understand that to build and grow our young country, we all have to pull together and work at it, not screw it up.

As you leave, you will see European Union monitors who are stationed on the border with Ukraine. They've been checking our exports ever since December 2005. We are happy to have them there: Because they will put to rest, once and for all, the unfounded allegations that Pridnestrovie is involved in smuggling or illicit trade of weapons. If in doubt, go ahead and ask some of the European Union officials on the border. Their monthly reports confirm what we have already known for years: That Pridnestrovie is an open, legal economy and that our country is growing because of the hard and honest work of our export companies. Anything else is pure invention.

By the time you return home, you will know the real facts about Pridnestrovie ... and you might even miss the country. So please come back next year. When you do, year after year, you'll see a better, improved country. It's a work in progress and a true labor of love. [ More ]

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