I. Public Memory in Transnistria - Tiraspol: Soviet Memory and Statehood
In September 2021, I had the privilege of joining a Summer School about identity discourses in the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. We spent three weeks in the region and were also granted a one-day glimpse into " the country that does not exist", also known as Transnistria. Being allowed inside for a 48 hour visa and checked thoroughly by Transnistrian military at the border, we had a tour guide, showing us around Bender ( Tighina ) and Tiraspol (the capital of Transnistria, officially the second largest city in Moldova). My observations here are limited to public spaces and symbolic representations, not to everyday life. I decided to split the trip into two blog entries; the first one will be about Tiraspol and how public spaces are shaped by monuments and beyond (which i caught on camera). A burdened name? The etymology of Transnistria is easy to explain: land beyond the Dniester river ( Днестр in Russian, Nistru in Romanian). A name of a region which dates back ...