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 Ukrainian volunteers |
 Moldova | ||||||
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| 823 Transnistrian fatalities; unknown number of volunteer casualties | ~1,000 total casualties Official figures: 172 combatants, ~400 civilians | ||||||
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The War of Transnistria involved armed clashes on a limited scale that broke out between the Transnistrian separatists and the Moldovan police as early as November 1990 at Dubăsari. Fighting intensified throughout 1992 until a ceasefire that same year which has held ever since.
Historic background
Most of the territory of the current Republic of Moldova was incorporated into the Soviet Union with the creation of the Moldavian SSR in 1940. The act, later denounced by present-day Moldova which declared it "null and void" in its Declaration of Independence in 1991, followed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.
Before the creation of the Moldavian SSR, Moldova to the west of the Dniester (Nistru) river was part of Romania (1918-1940), independent (1917-1918), part of Russian Empire (1812-1917), part of Principality of Moldavia (1359-1812); whereas Transnistria, i.e. the part of the current Republic of Moldova to the east of the Dniester, was part of the Soviet Union (1918-1940), Russian Empire (1792-1918), Ottoman-dependent provinces of Hajibei (Kachibei) and Braclav (cca 1700 - 1792).
Before 18th century, the more general area situated between the Dniester and Southern Bug rivers, much larger than, and including all of today Transnistria, was divided between the Crimean Khanate (which separated from the Golden Horde in 1440s), the Kingdom of Poland, and the far reaches of the Principality of Moldavia, located to the West of the Dniester. The countries each had a single fortress in this wide and sparsely populated area serving for tax collecting villages of respective ethnicity: Hajibei fortress and port for Tatar settlements, Braclav fortress for Slav (Ukrainian), respectively Raşcov (Raşcu) Castle for Moldavian villages.
Political background
During the last years of the 1980s, the political landscape of the USSR was changing due to Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of perestroika and glasnost, which allowed some political liberalization at the regional (republican) level. In the Moldavian SSR, as in many other not primarily Russian parts of the Soviet Union, national revival became the leading political force. Some Russians, however, viewed this tendency as exclusivist nationalism. This displeasure with the new policies was manifested in a more visible way in Transnistria where, unlike the rest of the MSSR, ethnic Moldovans (39.9%) were outnumbered by a Slavic majority (53.8%) as per the 1989 Census in Transnistria. There were strong scenes of protests in the region against the central government's moves towards nationalism. The combination of a distinct history (especially 1918-1940), and a fear of discrimination by Moldovans, gave rise to separatist sentiments.
On 31 August 1989, the Supreme Soviet of the Moldavian SSR enacted two laws. One of them made Moldovan language the official language, in lieu of the Russian, which remained at the moment official in USSR as a whole. It also mentions a linguistic Moldo-Romanian identity. The second law stipulated the return to the Latin Romanian alphabet. Moldovan language is the term used in the former Soviet Union for the Romanian language during 1940-1989.
On 27 April 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the Moldavian SSR adopted the traditional tricolour (blue, yellow and red) flag with the Moldavian coat of arms, and changed the national anthem to Deşteaptă-te, române!, the 1848 revolution song that was also Romania's national anthem before 1946, and after 1989. Later that year (1990) the words Soviet and Socialist were dropped, and the name of the country became the Republic of Moldova. The end of the communist rule in neighboring Romania in December 1989, and the partial opening of the border between Romania and Moldova on May 6, 1990, led many in Transnistria to believe that a union between Moldova and Romania was soon possible, ending them inside Romania, where they could no longer demand the return to Russian as the official language.
Political conflict
The language laws presented a particularly volatile issue as a great proportion of the non-Moldovan population of the Moldavian SSR did not speak - Moldovan (Romanian). The problem of the official language in the MSSR had become a Gordian knot, being exaggerated and, perhaps, intentionally politicized. Some described the language laws as "discriminatory" and criticized their rapid implementation. Others, on the contrary, complained the laws were not followed.
The different historic background prior to 1940, the different ethnic background, the social composition (up to 1/3 of inhabitants of Transnistria were recent migrants from other regions of the former USSR, with which (regions) they felt a closer connection), the socio-economic background (more industrial and skilled workers in Transnistria than in Moldova proper), and the political background (different power basis), gave rise to separatist sentiments.
Although not yet independent, Transnistria's protests against the central government were increasingly accompanied by moves towards more autonomy and self government of local affairs. The first operation by the special forces of the Moldovan police were launched against separatists in Dubǎsari on 12 June 1990, in response to local moves that would effectively cut off parts of Transnistria from the central government.
On 2 September 1990, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic was proclaimed; "Pridnestrovie" being the name for Transnistria in Russian. On 22 December 1990 the president Mihail Gorbachev signed a decree that declared void the decisions of the Second congress of people deputies of Transnistria from September 2. For two months, Moldovan authorities refrained from taking armed action against this proclamation. Transnistria became one of the "unrecognized republics" that appeared throughout USSR, alongside Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh. The events leading to the de facto separation of the former three were very similar, and many speculated they were simply a product of the old Soviet apparatus trying to "punish" the distantiation of Moldova and Georgia. Despite the fact that no country has recognized them, all four successfully survive until today.
In the aftermath of the failure of the Soviet coup attempt of 1991, on 27 August 1991, the Moldovan parliament adopted the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova. The declaration specifically referred to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact as null and void, and called for the political and legal consequences of the above be eliminated, declaring, among other facts, that the merger of Transnistria and the previous Romanian west-bank Moldova to have been an act of occupation and absent of any real legal basis. Transnistria interpreted this as meaning that the 1940-merger of the two sides of the Dniester river was dissolved. Moldova, however, did not agree, as large portions of the territory occupied in 1940 by USSR remain in Ukraine, and almost immediately took steps to assert its sovereignty over the full territory of the now-former MSSR.
At that time, the Republic of Moldova did not have its own army and the first attempts to create one took place in early 1992 in response to the beginning of the War of Transnistria. The newly independent Moldovan parliament asked the defunct government of the USSR "to begin negotiations with the Moldovan government in order to put an end to the illegal occupation of the Republic of Moldova and withdraw Soviet troops from Moldovan territory".
When, on 29 August 1991, Transnistria's independence leader Igor Smirnov and three other deputies arrived in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, to meet the Ukrainian leader Leonid Kravchuk. Smirnov and Andrei Cheban were arrested by Moldova's police, and immediately transported to a prison in Moldova. As a protest, the women's strike committee headed by Galina Andreeva blocked the Moscow-Chişinău railway line at a waypoint between Tighina and Tiraspol, until the arrested were freed by the then president of Moldova Mircea Snegur in an uninspired attempt to quell the spirits.
In late 1991, the policemen in Tiraspol and Ribnita swore allegiance to the separatists.
Military strength
In 1992, Moldova had troops under the Ministry of the Interior. On 17 March 1992 they started recruiting troops for the Ministry of Defence. Moldovan troop strength has been estimated at 25-35,000 people, including called-up policemen, reservists and volunteers, especially but not only from the Moldavian villages near the conflict zone. In addition to Soviet weaponry inherited upon independence, Moldova also obtained arms from Romania. It is disputed whether or not Romania also was a source of personnel.
At the same time, the Russian Army in Moldovan territory numbered about 14,000 professional soldiers. The Transnistrians had 9,000 militiamen trained and armed by officers of the 14th Army. In addition, there were 5,000-6,000 volunteers who came forward after an appeal was made on Russian television for fighters to go to Transnistria to support the cause. These volunteers came from all over the Russian Federation. A number of Don, Kuban, Orenburg, Sibir, and local Transnistrian Black Sea Cossacks joined in to fight alongside the separatists. Due to the irregular makeup of the forces, troop strength of Transnistria is in dispute, but it is generally accepted that it was as large, if not larger, than the Moldovan forces, as shown by the fact that Transnistria was able to repel Moldova in the fighting.
Forces of the 14th Army (which had owed allegiance to the USSR, CIS and the Russian Federation in turn) stationed in Transnistria, had fought with and on behalf of the Transnistrian separatist forces. A significant portion of the personnel of the Russian 14th Army were local conscripts and officers. The separatists were able to arm themselves with weapons taken from the stores of the former 14th Army. The Russian troops chose not to oppose the separatists who had come to help themselves from the Army’s stores; on the contrary, in many cases they helped the separatists equip themselves by handing over weapons and by opening up the ammunition stores to them.
In December 1991, the Moldovan authorities arrested Lieutenant-General Yakovlev in Ukrainian territory, accusing him of helping the Transnistrian separatists to arm themselves by using the weapons stocks of the 14th Army. At that time, General Yakovlev has been both Commander of the 14th Army and "Head of the National Defence and Security Department" of Transnistrian entity. The authorities of the Russian Federation interceded with the Moldovan authorities to obtain the release of General Yakovlev in exchange for 26 policemen detained by separatists in Dubăsari.
On 5 April 1992, Vice-President Rutskoy of the Russian Federation, in a speech delivered to 5,000 people in Tiraspol, encouraged the Transnistrian people to obtain their independence.
Military conflict
The first fatalities in the emerging conflict took place on November 2, 1990, on the two-month anniversary of Transnistria's September 2, 1990, declaration of independence. News agency New Region reported that Moldovan forces entered Dubǎsari in order to separate Transnistria in two halves. They were stopped by the city's inhabitants who had blocked the bridge over Dniester, at Lunga village near Dubăsari, and Moldovan forces opened fire in their attempt to proceed over the bridge. In the course of the confrontation, three Dubǎsari locals, Oleg Geletiuk, Vladimir Gotkas and Valerie Mitsuls, were killed by the Moldovan forces and sixteen people wounded.
A second Moldovan attempt to cross the Lunga bridge took place on December 13, 1991. As a results of the fighting, 27 Transnistrian troops were taken prisoners and 4 Moldovan troops (Ghenadie Iablocikin, Gheorghe Caşu, Valentin Mereniuk and Mihai Arnăut) killed , without Moldova being able to cross the bridge. After this second failed attempt, there was a lull in military activity until March 2, 1992, considered the official start date of the War of Transnistria.
The armed conflict lasted between March 2 and July 21, 1992, in three areas along the Dniester river. The start date of the conflict, March 2, 1992, was the same day when Moldova was admitted as a member of the United Nations, i.e. got full international recognition of its August 27, 1991 declaration of independence.
With the PMR's overwhelming military superiority, Moldova had little chance of achieving victory and the fighting was unpopular with the skeptical Moldovan population.
Cocieri-Dubǎsari area
The first area of military action was on the left shore of the Dniester river, from north to south, the villages of Molovata Nouǎ, Cocieri (approx 6,000 inhabitants), Corjova, and the city of Dubăsari (approx 30,000 inhabitants), together forming a contiguous mainly inhabitted area 10-12 km along the shore. The only connection to the right bank from the three villages is either a ferry, or two bridges in Dubăsari.
On 1 March 1992 Igor Shipcenko, the chief of Dubăsari separatist Militsya, was killed by a teenager and Moldovan police was accused for that. Although minor, this incident was a sufficient spark for the already very tense situation to blow up, and the events succeeded in a cascade.
In response, the Cossacks who came from Rostov on Don to support Transnistrian separatism stormed during the night the police precinct in Dubǎsari. Moldovan president Mircea Snegur, afraid of starting an armed conflict, ordered the 26 policemen to surrender to the attacking Cossacks and separatists. They were later exchanged for Lieutenant-General Yakovlev. Moldovan policemen loyal to Chişinău from the Dubăsari raion (district), instead of returning to work in the occupied presinct in Dubăsari, now a milice precinct, gathered in Cocieri.
On 2 March 1992, locals from Cocieri, after hearing about the situation of Dubăsari, broke in the small local arms depot to arm themselves against separatists. 3 locals (Alexandru Luchianov from Cocieri, Alexandru Gazea from Molovata and Mihai Nour from Roghi) were killed, but the military unit from Cocieri was conquered by the Moldovans. The officers and their families were forced to leave the village. More policemen were ferried the following days from the right bank of the Dniester. They organized a defense line around the three villages, while Dubăsari was left in separatist hands, and in the following weeks both separatist and Moldovan forces amassed large numbers in the area, and fought a trench war, with intermediate cease-fire.
Coşniţa area
A similar development occured from 13 March in the villages of Coşniţa, Pîrîta, Pohrebea, and Doroţcaia. A second "bridge-head" was formed on the left bank, now south of Dubǎsari.
Tighina (Bender) area
A cease-fire was in negotiated during June. However, the full scale conflict re-erupted after the regular Moldovan forces entered the city of Tighina (Bender) in an attempt to reestablish the authority of Moldova there. It has been reported that this action was a response to the stand-off at the police station in Tighina on 19 June 1992. On the afternoon of that day, the Moldovan police in Tighina arrested the 14th Army's Major Yermakov on a suspicion of a planned subversion. After his arrest, the Transnistrian guards opened fire at the police station. Next morning, the Moldovan forces moved into the city. Urban warfare ensued between the two sides in the densely populated city. In the course of combat actions in Bendery, there were casualties among civilian population.
The news of the havoc in Tighina reached Tiraspol, only 11 km away, as the Moldovan forces were approaching the crucial bridge over the Dniester. At this point, having the support of ROG's tanks, the Transnistrian Republican Guard and Cossack volunteers rushed to confront the Moldovan forces. The Vice-President Rutskoy of the Russian Federation, in a speech delivered on the main channel of the Russian (former Soviet) television, called for all Russian forces in Tiraspol to storm Tighina (Bender). In the course of the next days, parts of the the the city of Tighina (Bender), including the center, was retaken by Transnistrian forces.
Media war
According to eye-witnesses in Russian media, the Moldovan troops were firing at houses, courtyards and cars from heavy machine-guns mounted on armored vehicles. It was reported that in the daytime, June 20, Moldovan troopers were shooting at civilians who were hiding in their houses, trying to flee the city or help wounded (Transnistrian) national guards. Eye-witnesses testified that, on that day, a group of unarmed men, having gathered in a downtown square on the call of the pro-separatist Executive Committee, were fired at from machine-guns. Eye-witnesses in Moldavian media testified and produced similar accusation directed at the other side. The two sides plundged into a media conflict in addition to a military one.
On many occasions, fire was opened at ambulance cars. The sides accused each other of such actions. Doctors testified in Russian media that heavy fire from the positions of Moldovan forces, June 19-20, prevented them from rendering help to the wounded.
Involvement of the Russian Army
main article 14th Army involvement in Transnistria
Although the Russian army officially took the position that it did not involve itself and that its actions were limited to actions aimed at stopping the fighting, the reality was different. Many officers sided with the Transnistrian forces and some even defected in order to help the Transnistrians openly. ROG Parcani sapper battalion, under the orders of General Butkevich, went over to the separatist side. It was this Parcani battalion which destroyed the bridges at Dubăsari, Gura Bâcului-Bâcioc and Coşniţa. Moldovan forces used aircraft in the village of Parcani (Parkani) and shelled the ROG station which meant engaging not just Transnistrian but also Russian forces.
Ceasefire and Joint Control Commission
A cease-fire agreement was signed on 21 July. This official document whose broad lines was established by the Russian side, was signed by the presidents of Russia (Boris Yeltsin) and Moldova (Mircea Snegur). The agreement provided for peacekeeping forces charged with ensuring observance of the ceasefire and security arrangements, composed of five Russian battalions, three Moldovan battalions and two Transnistrian battalions under the orders of a joint military command structure, the Joint Control Commission or JCC.
It is estimated that in total nearly one thousand people have been killed in the conflict, with the number of wounded approaching 3,000. Unlike many other post-Soviet conflicts, IDP's (internally displaced persons) did not reach large numbers in the war of Transnistria.
Days after the truce had been agreed upon, a military confrontation between a local self-defence unit and the Moldovan army, took place in Gîsca (Gyska), a village near Tighina (Bender). At least three villagers were killed. During the combat, civil buildings were damaged or destroyed by artillery fire. Later reports of ceasefire violations have been brought under control with no known loss of human lives.
The Russian 14th Army's role in the area was crucial to the outcome of the war. The Moldovan army's position of inferiority prevented it from gaining control of Transnistria. Russia has since disbanded the 14th army and reduced troop strength in Transnistria to a corps of around 1,300 men who form part of the Joint Control Commission.
See also
References
- Dubossary marked anniversary of the first Dniester engagement
- Pridnestrovie: Founded on minority rights
- Moldova's 1991 Declaration of Independence
- Istoria creării Armatei Naţionale (Moldova)
- Vahl, Marius. Borderland Europe: Transforming Transnistria? Centre for European Political Studies, October 2001.
- Analysis of the Transnistrian Conflict "Human Rights and Russian Military Involvement in the "Near Abroad"" Human Rights Watch December. 1993
- Vlad Grecu - "O viziune din focarul conflictlui de la Dubăsari", Prut International 2005, ISBN 9975-69-741-0, page 30-34 (Romanian)]
- Dubossary marked anniversary of the first Dniester engagement
- Vlad Grecu - "O viziune din focarul conflictului de la Dubăsari", page 38-39
- William Crowther,"Moldova: caught between nation and empire," in New States, New Politics, Ian Bremmer and Ray Taras, eds., (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 322.
- V. Grecu - "O viziune din focarul conflictului de la Dubăsari", page 65-68
- Memorial Human Rights Center Report
External links
- Transnistrian war in pictures
- Armed conflict in and around the city of Bendery
- Commentary at Vlad Grecu's book "O viziune din focarul conflictului de la Dubăsari" (Romanian)
- Eduard Limonov: "The War in the Orchard"
- International Tribunal faults Moldova for 1992 massacres