National Construction, Territorial Separatism, and Post-Soviet Geopolitics in the Transdniester Moldovan Republic

A team of U.S. and Russian political geographers assesses the emergence of a new kind of quasistate within the territory of the former USSR—the Transdniester Moldovan Republic (Transniestria, or TMR)—which, although not officially recognized, has resisted the efforts of the Moldovan Republic to re-incorporate it and has been successful in part in promoting a new regional identity. The coverage, which is based on field work, interviews, and TMR statistical publications, includes recent information on population dynamics and trends in industrial and agricultural output. This is followed by examination of the economic, political, and military dimensions of the crisis and consideration of the TMR's significance in an international geopolitical context. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: H10, H50, O20. 2 figures, 2 tables, 40 references.