The Economic Tools of Secession. A Case Study: Transdniester

On the eve of the disintegration of the USSR, several conflicts for secession were launched as a countermeasure against the national renaissance of the Soviet republics. Transdniester appeared in the Easthern part of the Moldavian SSR, a territory on the left bank of the Dniester river, whose secessionist actions began in 1989 and culminated in the 1992 war. Despite the many plans to resolve the frozen conflict and reintegrate the secessionist republic, the involvement of the OSCE and other international actors, the issue remained unresolved. From Moscow's point of view, the interest of this secession is mainly geopolitical. From the perspective of local leaders, who originated in the former Soviet KGB intelligence service, the interest has become eminently economic. The assets of the former local Soviet industry, which had concentrated more than 70% of the Moldovan SSR's industry before 1990, were privatized through questionable methods by the local elite from the former intelligence structures and the former Communist Party. Among the new oligarchs are most important those who control the Sheriff economic group. As a political impact, for example, in the last parliamentary elections, only deputies supported by the Sheriff Group entered Parliament. Transdniester has become a hub of economic criminality, with connections to Russia, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Romania and ... Germany. Although it pays nothing to the budget of the Republic of Moldova, Transdniestrian business benefits from the economic advantages of Moldova's association with the EU. To "whiten" the business, the local companies of the Sheriff group act under the cover of companies legally registered in Germany. The new President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, more times has spoken out against economic criminality in Transnistria. The threatening rhetoric of the last year, after the last elections, subsided after the gas crisis at the end of last year, when a message of support was sent from Moscow in the favor of the Transdniestrian oligarchs. Even the current government, controlled by President Maia Sandu, has supported the Sheriff's business. Recently, the Prime Minister intervened in Brussels so that the metallurgical plant in Râbnița could import scrap metal from the EU, which comes mainly from Romania. Transdniester is the sole supplier of electricity to the Republic of Moldova, it controls the Russian gas pipeline and controls the main railway junction to the East. The secessionists have often used these strategic economic advantages to blackmail the Moldovan authorities. There are, therefore, two economic levels in support of Transdniestrian secessionism: firstly, the economic interests of local oligarchs in relation to politicians and businessmen from several countries, including the EU members, and secondly, control over strategic assets, through which they can blackmail the government of the Republic of Moldova.