Pridnestrovian youth about the role of Russia in the region in the face of growing US pressure
Students of the Pridnestrovian State University and representatives of youth organizations this week held a round table in Tiraspol, with the support of the Russian Embassy in Moldova, “The role of the Russian Federation in resolving the Moldovan-Pridnestrovian conflict.”
Together with teachers and experts, they touched upon a wide range of issues of relations between Russia and Pridnestrovie and tried to look into the future.
Unity with Russia has always helped to resist external threats; the Russian Federation remains the closest partner and friend of the republic, Pridnestrovian youth believe.
Status quo is the best option
Future political scientists discuss the situation around Transnistria and Russia’s geopolitical interests in the region. Graduate student Roman Tatarov believes that the protection of these interests in the light of NATO’s aspirations for expansion, in the context of the collapse of the INF Treaty, is reaching a new level.
He, in particular, talks about Romania, which, having become part of the North Atlantic Alliance, provided it with territory for the deployment of infrastructure, the deployment of a missile defense system, and began to pursue “a more active foreign policy with elements of imperial ambitions in the form of territorial claims in relation to a number of regions of Ukraine, Moldova, Transnistria".
“The emerging trend of militarization of Romania and Poland, mainly by US forces, speaks of Washington’s deliberate actions to keep the American interests of European states in the orbit,” Tatarov noted. He expressed the opinion that NATO is striving to create a belt of allies that would come close to the borders of Russia.
“A series of statements about the protection of Moldovan airspace by Romanian and Ukrainian forces suggests that there are plans to block the peacekeeping operation on the Dniester. The constant presence of American instructors and NATO forces at military exercises conducted by Ukraine and Moldova indicates NATO’s control over the strategic directions of military policy in these states,” says Roman Tatarov.
There is also a humanitarian side to the activities of NATO members - in Moldova, Romania has launched programs in the field of science, culture, language, and passportization of residents of the region.
In these conditions, Russia, according to Tatarov, strives to maintain a military presence in the region and is interested in consolidating the neutral status of Moldova and Ukraine. In economic terms, she is interested in developing alternative initiatives to European ones that can ensure the orientation of Moldovan and Transnistrian economic entities to the East.
Supporting Pridnestrovians, more than 200 thousand of whom are Russian citizens, remains the constitutional responsibility of the Russian Federation; moreover, it seeks to involve Moldova in the orbit of its interests, supporting individual political forces in this country, the graduate student notes.
“Russia’s actions in the regional palette of relations have a three-level basis. Firstly, this is continuous work with the political forces of Moldova and Transnistria through established communication channels, secondly, ensuring dialogue between Tiraspol and Chisinau in the 1+1 format, and thirdly, easing the conflict and attracting the attention of international political institutions and states to the current situation,” Tatarov summed up.
Master's student in political science Vasily Badyan, discussing the prospects for a settlement, noted that Russia today does not have a clear plan for the future of Transnistria.
“In all likelihood, this is due to the instability of the political system of Moldova,” he explains. – However, there is the will of the Pridnestrovians, which was expressed in 2006 at a referendum (then more than 97% of Pridnestrovians spoke in favor of independence and subsequent integration with the Russian Federation - editor's note). The situation around Transnistria does not allow Russia to take serious political steps in support of the republic. And by pushing it towards reintegration with Moldova, Russia will lose its stronghold in South-Eastern Europe and the opportunity to provide support to its compatriots.
In modern conditions, maintaining the status quo in the settlement process is the most optimal option for preserving the independence of the republic and the legitimate, historically determined presence of Russia on the banks of the Dniester.”
Young experts point to a “double dimension” of Russia’s policy in the Transnistrian direction: on the one hand, at the official level, the Russian Federation declares the need to resolve the conflict taking into account respect for the principle of the territorial integrity of Moldova, on the other hand, it provides serious assistance to Transnistria, demonstrating interest in strengthening its presence in region.
Attache of the Russian Embassy in Moldova, Kirill Abramov, said on this occasion that he would not look for inconsistencies and duality in the position here. “Yes, indeed, there is an official position, but this will not cancel the presence of our compatriots in Pridnestrovie, whom Russia will protect and defend their rights,” he said.
Part of the Russian World
Transnistria is part of the Russian world, and there is a lot of evidence of this, PSU students note. Thus, future political scientist Irina Basyul recalled that in this territory there have always been pro-Russian sentiments, the Russian language is used everywhere, people feel themselves to be part of Russia and its people, and consider Russian history to be theirs.
Citizens of the republic expressed their commitment to the ideas of the Russian World during referendums dedicated to the formation of the republic and its independence, and maintaining a course towards Russia. Transnistria participates in Russian humanitarian projects and receives military and political support from the Russian Federation.
“Despite the lack of prospects for recognition, the difficult geopolitical situation, economic difficulties, Pridnestrovie has been and will remain part of the Russian world,” said Irina Basyul, noting that the PMR does not refuse cooperation with other states.
Philology student Aleksey Legas noted that the youth of the republic no longer strive for Russia as before, and this could jeopardize Pridnestrovie’s presence in the Russian world. “The ideas of the Russian World must somehow connect with the economy: people first of all look at the refrigerator, and sometimes it is empty. Considering how much money Russia has allocated to Pridnestrovie over all these years, we should have already lived like little Switzerland, but there was no qualitative economic leap,” he said.
Irina Basyul believes that the danger is exaggerated. “Young people are focused on Russia; in this regard, we are influenced by our parents and the education system. We are boiling – in a good way – in a cauldron that is filled with the juice of Russia, and we will stay with it, despite the existing problems,” she said.
The director of the Institute of Socio-Political Research and Regional Development, Igor Shornikov, commenting on this discussion, admitted that there really is a problem: young people are leaving, there are negative migration processes.
“Everything is fine, but only for now. As long as we think and speak Russian, the Russian world will be preserved here. But it may turn out one day that Pridnestrovie will find itself without Pridnestrovians, and then there will be no Russian world here. The West is trying to squeeze Russia out of the region, and this is a challenge for the Pridnestrovians.
We have two competing civilizational models here: European and Russian. If earlier it was like this in the world: whoever owns the territory dominates, now we can say that the world is owned by whoever owns the technology. This also applies to public administration technologies, in which we are far behind. We need to decide where our future is: either we will be on the outskirts of the EU, like Romania, for example, or we will become part of historical Russia, from where technologies will come first hand,” the expert said.
As for the economic development of Transnistria, it is worth not only waiting for external help, but also taking some measures on your own, says Igor Shornikov.
“We rely on external help. But in many countries that receive Western support, we do not see much prosperity. I would like to recall our own experience in the mid-2000s, when Pridnestrovie independently managed to increase wages by 2 - 2,5 times, and there was no inflation. Here we are not talking about whether they help us or not, but about whether the state itself is capable of breakthroughs in development. We have had a breakthrough, and, hopefully, there will be more,” explained the director of ISPIRR.
The format is justified
Pridnestrovian youth clearly speak out regarding the peacekeeping mission that has been carried out on the banks of the Dniester since July 1992 under the auspices of Russia: there is no alternative to this mechanism. Fourth-year student of the “Political Science” direction Evenii Kushchak, speaking about the peacekeeping operation “from the point of view of a young Pridnestrovian,” said that it is the most successful in modern Europe.
The effectiveness of the mission is also due to the fact that representatives of the conflicting parties also participate in it. Decisions are made on the basis of consensus, and extensive experience in assessing and managing the situation has been gained. For almost three decades, peacekeepers were forced to open fire only once - on the night of January 1, 2012, while defending one of the posts. Then they had to shoot at the tires of the car of an 18-year-old citizen of Moldova when he ignored the stop sign, the demand of the military personnel to stop, and then warning shots. The offender died from an accidental injury in the hospital.
“The peacekeeping operation permanently irritates Western partners - political and economic pressure on the mission increases every year, Moldova regularly declares from high international platforms the need to withdraw peacekeeping forces.
Another neighbor of Transnistria is blocking the delivery of clothing, military-technical, and food supplies,” says Evgeniy Kushchak. According to him, “any arguments in favor of the withdrawal of the peacekeeping contingent are broken by a simple fact: the Russian presence on the Dniester stably ensures peace on both banks of the Dniester and has never created a threat to any of Transnistria’s neighbors, fully justifying its peacekeeping format.”
The political science student emphasized that Pridnestrovie fully trusts Russian peacekeepers - they have already become regular participants in military parades and joint exercises in the republic. “We must defend peacekeepers politically just as they defend our security militarily,” Kuschak concluded.
When asked by his peers whether, given the presence of peacekeepers, Pridnestrovie needs its own army, the student replied that the Armed Forces of the PMR, in which he himself served and “gained valuable experience,” “are the stronghold of the security of the republic, and peacekeepers are the main partner in all of its plans."
What is Russia's “soft power”?
The students listed the types of social and humanitarian assistance that Russia provides to Pridnestrovie. These include monthly additional payments to Pridnestrovian pensioners (regardless of citizenship), and infrastructure projects, and quotas for Pridnestrovian applicants in leading universities of the Russian Federation (about two hundred budget places annually), and the provision of scholarships from the mayor of Moscow to the best students of Pridnestrovian universities, and the supply of educational literature to schools and libraries.
According to PSU journalism student Darina Kulakova, in recent years Pridnestrovians have increasingly participated in Russian humanitarian and volunteer projects.
In building up cultural and humanitarian ties, interaction through public institutions, events held by Rossotrudnichestvo and the Russkiy Mir Foundation, young people see the effect of Russia’s “soft power”.
“For a long time in Russia there was no concept of “soft power,” says public figure Svetlana Molake. – To defend its interests, it is no longer enough for the Russian Federation to increase the pace of modernization and improve weapons. Awareness of the importance of information security, cultural influence, and peaceful lobbying of one’s interests has made changes in the course of politicians.
For example, from the point of view of youth policy, “soft power” today is carried out, including through holding a large number of diverse youth forums, student gatherings, development of the volunteer movement, and grant support for youth initiatives on the territory of the Russian Federation.”
Pridnestrovie is closely involved in these projects: a large delegation of the PMR visited the World Youth Festival in Sochi, the International Volunteer Forum, representatives of the republic are regular participants in the “Territory of Meanings” forum, rallies of the “Volunteers of Victory” movement and other events.
The Chairman of the Youth Parliament of Transnistria, Alexander Savich, drew attention to the fact that in modern Russia, science is moving to the forefront, the country is attracting partners in this field for cooperation, who see the picture of the future in the same way as the Russian Federation.
“There are sovereignty-forming technologies - technologies of cyber defense, communications, critical infrastructure. Russia has top-level competencies in this area and is an exporter of high-tech security. Pridnestrovie should strive to enter the international conglomerate to achieve common goals in science and security in the field of critical technologies and industry, which will allow it to succeed in socio-political terms,” he noted.
The official representative of the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Chisinau, Nikolai Zhuravlev, commenting on the youth’s speeches, said that Russia is investing serious funds in projects for compatriots. “How they manage these opportunities is an issue that requires both discussion and brainstorming. It’s great that Tiraspol pays such attention to this, including young people,” he said.
As Kirill Abramov, the attache of the Russian Embassy in Moldova, noted, the Russian humanitarian aid programs implemented here work more effectively than in the rest of the CIS, “which is also recognized by the leadership of Rossotrudnichestvo.”
“The opportunities provided by Russia are extremely broad, in a variety of areas, I hope that together with you we will make efforts to ensure that these opportunities are fully realized,” the diplomat said.
He asked Pridnestrovian students to initiate new discussion platforms on issues of local and global nature, to participate in conferences dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Victory, the 75th anniversary of the UN, which will be held this year.
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