Edward Lucas
Economist.com

A glimpse inside Transdniestria

EMBARRASSINGLY sleazy, expensive and indefensible—but ours, and we are bloody well going to hang on to it. That was West Berlin during the cold war, seen through NATO eyes. And it may also explain why Russia has supported Transdniestria, a narrow strip of land on the eastern bank of the Dniestr river that has broken away from Moldova, the poorest and most demoralised country in Europe.

Just as Western soldiers propped up West Berlin, so Transdniestria has survived thanks to the presence of Russian military “peace-keepers”—really “piece-keepers”—maintaining their country's hold on territory that has been a bastion of Russian military strength for centuries. Western officials told the West Berlin government what to do; Russians occupy senior positions in Transdniestrian officialdom.

West Berlin was a thumb in the Soviet Union’s eye. A mixture of military conquest and ruthless power-politics had brought Soviet power to the heart of Europe, but West Berlin was a symbol of freedom. Here Soviet power had been checked.

Read full article here