The store once sold flowers and garden supplies to visitors from just down the road, where the small breakaway region of Moldova has been firmly isolated for more than 30 years with the support of Russian troops.
But since gas from Russia was cut off on New Year's Day, the store has been selling mostly electric heaters to freezing residents of Transnistria, a self-proclaimed microstate in eastern Moldova.
Salespeople say cheaper models are already sold out, but Transnistria's 350,000 residents endure an energy crisis, with factories closed and Soviet-era apartment blocks without heat or hot water. Due to neglect and questions, high-end heating equipment is selling rapidly. About the survival of their arbitrary Russian-speaking enclaves.
The situation is so bad that the region's president, Vadim Krasnoselsky, who heads a group unrecognized by other countries, including Russia, sought to reassure his people on Thursday that “we will not allow society to collapse.”
“It's tough,” Krasnoselskiy said, listing thousands of businesses, schools, farms and homes without heat. He said citizens had shown “great responsibility” by “going out into the forest to pick up dead wood” to burn at home.
The crisis began on January 1, when Russian energy giant Gazprom stopped pumping natural gas through Ukraine, the remaining main export route to Europe, after Ukraine refused to renew a five-year gas transit agreement. It has begun.
In most regions that once relied on Russian gas, such as Hungary, the impact of the shutdown was cushioned by alternative suppliers from Western countries. But Transnistria, a small territory built on unwavering loyalty to Russia, is facing an existential crisis.
Moldova's Prime Minister Dolin Lecean, who has long called for Moldova to renounce its rights as a state, accused Russia of creating an “impending humanitarian crisis.”
“By seeking to destabilize Moldova and endangering the future of the protectorate it has supported for 30 years, Russia is making clear to all its allies the inevitable outcome of betrayal and isolation,” Lishan said on Friday. stated.
Distracted by the Ukraine war and wary of resource investments, Russia has recently become more willing to cut its losses, particularly in Syria last month as rebels overthrow Russia's closest ally in the Middle East. , I was watching from the sidelines.
Former Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova Alexandre Frenchea, who is responsible for Transnistria's reintegration, said Russia is not yet ready to abandon the region and is seeking to put military and political pressure on Moldova. He said that he is placing emphasis on utilizing this area.
Mr. Frenchia said that in October Moldova's voters narrowly approved constitutional reforms that blocked Russia's exit from the sphere of influence and supported closer cooperation with Western countries, making it more vulnerable to Russian influence. said that his desire has become even more serious.
But Frenchier said Russia's stance of freezing Transnistria without selling gas or electricity from gas power plants, a major source of income, to Moldova shows the region is in deep trouble. He added that it was suggested.
“The whole Transnistrian model relies on free Russian gas. If free Russian gas runs out, everything will collapse,” he said. “But I don't think Russia will allow this anytime soon. They still need them.”
Some see Transnistria's woes as an expression of Russia's determination to divert Moldova from a pro-European path, rather than a Russian withdrawal.
Moldova has also been cut off from gas supplies from Russia, and has been moving over the past week to more expensive alternatives, including electricity from Romania. Although the move spared Moldova from economic crisis, it doubled electricity prices for consumers and could have a high political cost for the pro-Western government in elections this year.
Vladislav Kurminskiy, a former government official now with the Institute for Strategic Initiatives, a research group in Moldova, said Russia's goal was to “gray us by getting election results that form another government.” It's about staying in the zone.”
“Everything was thrown up in the air,” he said. “We don't know what shape all the pieces will look like when they hit the ground.”
A retro police state with its own currency and passport, and a successful soccer team funded by local tycoons, Transnistria has extensive security services fortified by the Russians. They have worked hard to regulate the information that people hear.
Transnistrian media echoes Russia's narrative, blaming Ukraine, the United States, and the Moldovan governments for the gas cutoff. Whispers that Russian President Vladimir V. Putin may also be responsible are taboo.
The media blitzkrieg seems to be working.
“Putin will never abandon us,” said Grigory Krabatenko, a resident of the industrial town of Bender, which borders the Moldovan-controlled region.
Asked whether Transnistria would be better off not cooperating with Moscow, he added: We are not for Moldova. We do not support Ukraine. We are for ourselves and we all suffer. ”
Even after the power went out on January 1st, the cooking stove continued to operate for a while thanks to the gas that still remained in the pipes. But now they too are flying off.
Yulia, a Transnistrian resident who gave only her first name and was walking along the abandoned railroad tracks with her young daughter on Friday, said she was confident Russia would soon come to their aid. “Of course they're not going to let us die,” she said.
Victor Sevan, an Orthodox priest in charge of parishes along the zigzag border, said he declined to say who was in charge. “Whatever you say to one person becomes an enemy to another,” he said.
In some places, the border is lined with concrete barriers manned by Russians in military uniform. But it's so opaque elsewhere that it's easy to get lost in Transnistria. Last week, journalists waved through a checkpoint by soldiers carrying Russian flags on their shoulders and asked people at a bus stop if they knew about the problem in Transnistria.
“Of course I will. This is Transnistria,” the older woman said.
Priest Sevan walked from house to house in the Moldovan-controlled village of Varnita on Friday, offering blessings ahead of Orthodox Christmas and praying that the mostly elderly flock would not suffer too long without heat. I said a prayer.
When Moldova was part of the Soviet Union and Moldova's most prosperous republic, Transnistria, first broke away to form a rebel state in the early 1990s, the region became a Russian version of Switzerland, i.e. from Moldova. He boasted that it would become a proudly independent paradise. Chaos hits Moldova, which has fallen into extreme poverty.
This breakaway region later became a template for Russia's efforts to maintain influence in former Soviet lands by supporting separatists (first in Moldova, then Georgia, and then eastern Ukraine). In all three countries, local armed groups backed by Russian forces have declared their own micro-states.
Due to the deployment of Russian troops to Transnistria, originally as peacekeeping forces, they are still present decades after fighting ceased, and Moldova will never be able to retake the territory by force. As a result, diplomatic efforts failed.
But just as important to Transnistria's survival is Russian gas, which is provided virtually free of charge to keep steel mills and other industries open and to fuel power plants that sell electricity to Moldova.
Konstantin Borosan, Moldova's Secretary of State for Energy, said that before the crisis, electricity generated in Transnistria met about three-quarters of the country's needs and covered about half of the separatist region's budget. He said that he had done so.
“These people were living on gas with subsidies from Russia,” he said. “Now it looks as if Russia has abandoned them.” He said Gazprom had ignored a proposal from Moldova that if the Kremlin wanted, it could supply gas to Transnistria using alternative export routes under the Black Sea. pointed out.
“I don't know what's going on in President Putin's head,” he said.
Whatever Russia's intentions, it is causing widespread suffering not only in Transnistria but also in the Moldova-controlled areas.
Alexander Nichtenko, the mayor of Varnita, a village surrounded by Transnistria and dependent on its energy, said most of its 5,100 residents could no longer heat their homes. They face disaster, he said, especially if normal winter temperatures (usually many times below freezing) hit the country.
He said he did not condemn Transnistria. Moscow controls everything over there. ”
Veronika Ostap, a mother who lives in Varnita, said she was struggling to feed her family without a stove, but was waiting for next week's paycheck to buy an electric kettle. She kept one room warm with an electric heater so her three young sons could sleep.
A Baptist Christian, she thanked God for keeping temperatures near zero, at least during the day. “The Lord is trying to help us,” she said.
Ruxanda Spatari contributed reporting from Chisinau, Moldova, and Nataliya Vasilyeva contributed from Berlin.
