Transnistria: Moldova's Mini Soviet Nation? | A Forgotten Breakaway State

[@largeegothegreat3645]

how is this channel so underrated you deserve way more views

[@TieranFreedman]

Thanks so much man! Hopefully the algorithms will look favourably upon me eventually 😂

[@Svetlana-says-it-as-it-is.]

100%

[@pixeldeter8939]

Very interesting video with lots of detailed information. Great ! Keep up the good work. Greetings from France

[@TieranFreedman]

Thanks so much! It's such a fascinating part of the world, so it was difficult to fit it all it into one video. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@SueLambertPhotography]

Really enjoyed your insight - having been lucky enough myself to visit Moldova, Transnistria and Gagauzia many of your scenes were familiar to me. Did you see them using abacus in the shops in Transnistria? I found that a real eye-opener in the 21st Century

[@TieranFreedman]

Hey Sue, glad you enjoyed the video! It is a really fascinating place, I hope to go back some day (perhaps not in winter haha). I found it really interesting to see so many different pockets of cultures, and of outside influence (like Russia's influence in the PMR, Turkey's in Gagauzia) in such a small area. It seemed like the country was being pulled in loads of different directions. Ahh I didn't see the abacus when I was there (this is the first time I'm hearing about it), and now wish I had! Maybe I was too busy frantically trying to collect all the denominations of their plastic coins 😂 That's great that you've been able to visit many of the places in the video! What brought you out to that part of the world?

[@angelawhitehead6187]

Good historical comments and truthful too. Nice video. Well done

[@DanCalverley]

Excellent video, content and narration! Head and shoulders above other travel and cycling films on KZbin. You could do it professionally. Good luck on your UK tour.

[@TieranFreedman]

Thanks for the kind words Dan! It takes a long time to edit these so it's lovely to hear feedback like this. I did end up selling a series of videos and articles last year, so I'm hoping that will be the beginning of something more long-term 😊 And thank you, we've made it about 200km now, so just 3,800 left to go! 🚲🚲🚲

[@mrsstone9689]

That was fascinating Tieran. Thank you.

[@TieranFreedman]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it 😊🚴

[@paulaedwards8937]

I know that the weather gives people the impression of Prindnestrovie being unhappy, depressing etc. But I’m happy while watching this video, honestly It’s so nostalgic to see the streets of my country, and yet because of COVID I can’t go there as I always did on summer. Sigh. I am craving to get there, and I have hopes for both countries to rise :D

[@TieranFreedman]

I'm so glad that the video made you feel that way! 😊 I think the weather in these clips gives it an unfair image; I was there in February, which some of my friends called "mud season" haha. Everybody told me to come back in the spring/summer, which I hope I'll be able to do some day! Which part of Pridnestrovie are you from? I only spent time in Tiraspol before I went back to Moldova. I would love to have been able to see more of it. I found the whole region truly fascinating to visit; so many different cultures and identities so close together. I knew next to nothing about Moldova or the PMR when I visited, but it ended up being one of the most memorable parts of my trip. Lovely people, too! It is sad that the countries have seen so much tragedy, but as you say, hopefully both will rise :)

[@paulaedwards8937]

@@TieranFreedman thank you very much! I have been in Tiraspol countless times, I have a small apartment in Bendery but now I'm gonna stay more often at our house at our dear village near Slobodzeia, I recommend you to have a look at Bendery's Fortress (I have been there 2 years ago and it was one of the best experiences in my country) ^v^ I was promised to come back there once we won't have to do corona tests to get there, and if it happens on winter I'll be the happiest person alive. They have more snow than the country I live in and I always dreamt to celebrate my birthday on Jan with the rest of my family. I know some of the southern parts of PMR but I'm planning in the future to visit the centre and the northern parts :) And also thank you for believing too.

[@brandonsmith8336]

Love it Tieran! Making moves man!

[@TieranFreedman]

Thanks so much man, glad you enjoyed it! 😊🚲

[@Svetlana-says-it-as-it-is.]

I went to Moldova and Pedniestrovie a few years ago. Small country and yet so complex. With Pedniestrovie they have everything to be a country on it’s own but it’s been 30 years now and the conflict is still frozen. I partly agree with what the lady said, she does have a point but let’s not forget that Crimea is a even more complex case and not every country recognises it as part of Russia, I’m sure she’s not stupid and probably knows that. Unification with Russia could be an option but I don’t know how smooth would that be, if it’s done peacefully without a war then yes but other people may want other things. I know people in Pedniestrovie that live well but in a lot of cases it seems to me that some people would be no better off than if they were united with Moldova, Romania or Russia. I am nobody to judge, I am just a stranger on the internet making comments. I have no idea what the future holds for these places but as for the individuals they need to find their feet somewhere.

[@TieranFreedman]

Yeah I found it so fascinating that for such a small place it's being pulled in so many different directions! I knew next to nothing about the country before the trip so found the experience of cycling through it an amazing way to learn about it. That's cool that you were able to visit, what brought you out to that part of the world? It's such a tricky situation for the PMR. As I understand it, I think Russia is wary of pushing the rest of Moldova to align with Nato countries. At the moment Moldova seems to straddle a middle-ground where it hasn't picked a side, but if Russia were to recognise Transnistria officially, that would immediately push Moldova away. So perhaps that's one of the major barriers for Russian recognition (or even integration). You might be right about the outcome being the same no matter who they were united with. I suppose for some it comes down to culture and identity more than looking at things like economic indicators to decide "who would I be better off with?"

[@Svetlana-says-it-as-it-is.]

@@TieranFreedman What brought me to Moldova? I worked with Moldovan people and I knew them since my early teens while living in Portugal and I got on really well with them and I was sad to hear that at one point it was the least visited country in the world, then a friend from Germany told me about Prednistrovie and I thought what???? I need to visit it and I booked the thicket while we were talking then I forgot about it and looked at the calendar and thought oh crap I have one week to go need to find a guide and everything which thankfully I did. A colleague from Moldova told me “oh be careful Pedniestrovie is dangerous” and I got really scared but then I ignored and went ahead with it and I am glad I didn’t listen to him! I came back and told him off in a jokie way of course and he just smiled and said sorry. I recommend to other friends in person and they went there and liked it one of them is a internet friend Alina McLeod and she’s got a travel channel here. I just wish those people the best.

[@Svetlana-says-it-as-it-is.]

@@TieranFreedman Yes, it comes down to identity and we have to respect than.

[@theglobetrottingdetective]

Great video! How did you make the map at the beginning of your video?

[@theglobetrottingdetective]

I meant the map. 🫣☺️

[@TieranFreedman]

Thanks, it's always exciting to get a comment on one of my older videos! I used Google Earth Studio to animate maps back then, but nowadays I'm an After Effects guy

[@ΓιώργοςΓλήνης]

Excellent vlog 👌

[@TieranFreedman]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!

[@kimotheking95]

❤️❤️❤️ Great Video Mate!!

[@TieranFreedman]

Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@seanjose219]

Enjoyable well edited and narrated vid, thank you. I think a key part of the PMR story is the company Sherrif. Sadly the PMR is hyper capitalist in so far as one company owns everything, not to mention the corruption which lead to this point. There are many polls indicating people all over the former USSR miss and regret it's collapse. My understanding is people don't just miss good employment and access to cheap fuel, but the sense of community and comradery. The USSR was effective at surpressing nationalism which lead to peace between peoples that have often had war historically. I'd imagine it's very tense in the PMR since the war as there's over a hundred thousand people who are Ukrainian, the pro-Russian government stance, and a heavy reliance on Russian energy with no real alternative.

[@nullifye7816]

I like how well-maintained the soviet public buildings are, gives a sense of the aesthetic impression within the Soviet Union in its heyday. It's not a particularly homely or natural style, especially if you don't agree with the ideology and you see the big Lenin head, but it is strongly rooted in historical styles and makes an effort, unlike western post-modern styles. The clean, whitewashed façade is essential to conveying that.

[@grahamthetraveller]

Transnistria is right near the top of my bucket list but I expect it is dangerous atm

[@TieranFreedman]

Yeah probably a good idea to wait a while before heading there

[@FaithFlow2]

Very informative

[@TieranFreedman]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it 🙂

[@MarcusBlueWolf]

Moldova: *internal existential crisis*

[@TieranFreedman]

That's actually a pretty good way to summarise it!

[@cherray50]

Wild watching this in 2023

[@TieranFreedman]

Yeah the context of this video is very different now. I imagine a lot will change here in the not-too-distant future

[@grahamthetraveller]

How did you afford to do this?

[@TieranFreedman]

Nowadays I do this for a living. But for my earlier videos I had saved up some money after university to put into a year-and-a-half of travel. Since I was travelling by bicycle, it was a lot cheaper than travelling any other way.