Trans-Dniester, a tiny, self-proclaimed “independent republic” wedged between Moldova and Ukraine, has a hammer and sickle on its flag, a parliament called the Supreme Soviet, a Soviet-sounding national anthem praising “the friendship of peoples,” and about 200,000 Russians out of a total population of 510,000. Following Crimea’s annexation, it also wants to join the Russian Federation.
Roughly the size of Rhode Island and lacking its own Internet domain, direct-dialing codes, or even an airport, Trans-Dniester depends economically on Moldova while maintaining its own currency (the Trans-Dniester ruble), military, and police force. It contains the greater part of what was Moldova’s heavy industry, mostly steel. Known for little besides being a hotbed of organized crime, it has enjoyed de facto sovereignty since declaring independence from Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (MSSR) in 1990.
