Romania Bucharest Mission - THREE Countries!

Did you know our mission actually includes three countries? Many people don't because the little country of Transnistria, located between Moldova and the Ukraine, is so small it is often overlooked. And, because it will not allow missionaries in its borders not many of our missionaries even realize it is actually considered a part of this mission. We thought some of you might be interested in knowing a little bit about this tiny country and have included a note sent to us from Elder Blacoe explaining where it is, what, and how it came to be. So for those of you interested, here is Elder Blacoe:
Attached is a quick document I put together on the third country in your mission.
Regards,
William Victor Blacoe
Welfare Department manager
Europe Central Area
Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic
Transnistria, also known as Trans-Dniester and Pridnestrovie, is a breakaway territory within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova. Although not recognized by any state or international organization and de jure a part of Moldova, it is de facto an independent state called the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.
Although the PMR does not have such legal status within Moldova, it functions like a state, and is organized as a republic. Transnistria declared independence from Moldova, but within the Soviet Union on September 2, 1990, as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. This was declared void by then-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachov.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, in March 1992, a war between Moldovan and Transnistrian separatist forces started in the region. In mid April 1992, in accordance with the agreements concerning the split of the military equipment of the former Soviet Union, negotiated between the former 15 republics in the previous months, Moldova created its own Defense Ministry. According to the decree of its creation, most of the 14th Soviet Army's military equipment was to be retained by Moldova. Volunteers came from Russia and Ukraine to help the separatist side ("Cossack Companies"). The former Soviet 14th Guards Army entered the conflict in its final stage, opening fire against Moldovan forces; since then, Moldova has exercised no effective control or influence on PMR authorities. A three-party (Russia, Moldova, PMR) Joint Control Commission supervises the security arrangements in the de-militarized zone, comprising 20 localities on both sides of the river.
Transnistria functions as a presidential republic, with its own government and parliament. Its authorities have adopted a constitution, flag, a national anthem, and a coat of arms. They organized a military and a police force (militsya). They have a postal system and stamps, although it is not internationally recognized and, apart from local mail, their stamps are of value only to collectors. Transnistrian institutions, like the state itself, have no international recognition. Nonetheless, the population is able to travel (normally without difficulty) in and out of the territory under PMR control to neighboring Moldovan-controlled territory, Ukraine, and on to Russia, by road or (when service is not interrupted by political tensions) on two international trains, the year-round Moscow-Chişinău, and the seasonal Saratov-Varna. International air travelers rely on the airport in Chisanau, the Moldovan capital. Despite the fact that when Moldova proclaimed its independence, the majority of Transnistrian territory was already controlled by separatists, 400,000 Transnistrians (the majority of the population) took Moldovan citizenship by 2007.
A 1,200-strong Russian military contingent (the Operational Group of Russian Forces in Moldova of the Moscow Military District), as well as over 20,000 tons of Russian-owned weapons and munitions are present in Transnistria. The Russian contingent was originally the Soviet 14th Guards Army, but in the late 1990s it was redesignated as a Operational Group. Moldova and the OSCE demand their withdrawal. According to a verdict issued by European Court of Human Rights, the presence of these troops is illegal (breaking the July 21 1992 agreement), and Transnistria is "under the effective authority or at least decisive influence of Russia".
Transnistria is sometimes compared with Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. All four are post-Soviet frozen conflicts, and except for Nagorno-Karabakh, the tensions in these areas have risen to large-scale military conflict after the independence of Moldova and Georgia from the Soviet Union, while Russian troops and/or volunteers from Russia were largely present