Published Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 14:53
by
arktika 
(814 views and 2 comments)
Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, is backing independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia - Georgia's two rebel provinces. The vote came after a brief war between Russia and Georgia following Georgia's assault on the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali Aug. 7. Both countries won de-facto independence in the 1990s after wars with the government in Tbilisi. The road which started from Kosovo UDI seems to continue long because it is estimated that there is about five thousend ethnic groups on globe.
After Georgia's separatists my bet is that in Europe Transnistria could be the next breakaway province. Let's look this maybe next new state closer:
Pridnestrovie - also known by the unofficial name, Transnistria - is a new and emerging country in South Eastern Europe, sandwiched between Moldova and Ukraine. Although widely seen as part of Moldova, historically, Pridnestrovie and Moldova were always separate. Throughout 2500 years of history, the Dniester River forming the current border has been a traditional border between Slav lands (Scythia, 450 B.C.) to the East and Romanian lands (Dacia) to the West.
The population is some 550.000. The inhabitants of Pridnestrovie are for the most part Slavic. This is in stark contrast to Moldova, on the other side of the Dniester River, where 4/5ths of the population are of Romanian descent and where ethnic Russians and ethnic Ukrainians only make up 6 to 8 percent, respectively.
Pridnestrovie meets the requirements for sovereign statehood under international law, as it has a defined territory, a population, effective elected authority, and the capability to enter into international relations. It is currently seeking international recognition of its de facto independence and statehood.
The economy of Pridnestrovie is a mixed market-based economy. Following a large scale privatization process, most of the companies in the country are now privately owned. The economy is export-oriented and based on a mix of heavy industry and manufacturing. According to the latest data from the nation's Customs, Pridnestrovie - which is also known as Transnistria, or Transdniester - now trades with 99 foreign countries.
Source and more info about Transnistria e.g. from http://www.tiraspoltimes.com
More Caucasus conflict: http://arirusila.wordpress.com
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Comments
1. Transnistria - or Flanders? Should we care? by julian_schaerbeek
on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 16:21
Transnistria could be the next breakaway province, but Flanders might be a good bet too. Should European socialists be in favour of preserving the national status quo? Why? I agree that nationalism should be of no interest to socialists, but if people are really determined to have their own state should we stand in their way? Isnt that just being conservative?2. Nationalsm socialist debate ? Flanders ? by kim
on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 13:38
I don't really understand what Flanders has to do with this debate. There is a world of difference between Flanders and Transnistria. One, the People of Flanders don’t want to be separated. This is a minority group that are influenced by populist politicians, with unrealistic views. Also historically there is a difference.
I don’t see why nationalism is a socialist debate. There are internationals laws, rules that apply with unrecognised states. There are also other international institutions dealing with this question. I think we should leave it to them. This is not a left-right or ideological debate.
If it comes to Europe and area as transnistria it is mostly important to have a good Balkan strategy where Europe can take an important role. And in this debate we socialist can’t be absent.To be able to post comments you need to be logged in. No account yet? Register here! Lost your password?