The fall of the dictator in Transnistria (Swiss Stories 2012, by Nicolas Righetti) - Swiss Press Award
Nicolas Righetti
Presidential elections in Transnistria. Commemoration of the bust of soldier Fioders Zharchinesty, Hero of the Soviet Union.
L’Hebdo
Photo / Swiss Stories
2012
Nicolas Righetti
Transnistria is a Russian-speaking secessionist region that won a bloody civil war against Moldova at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union. It has its own constitution, flag, national anthem, president, army, currency, and capital: Tiraspol. But it is a country that has never been recognized by the international community, nor even by Russia, which nevertheless continues to station its armed forces there. For 20 years, the all-powerful Igor Smirnov has ruled unchallenged in this timeless, forgotten Republic, which remains the poorest in Europe. On December 11, 2011, 20 years after the fall of the USSR, Igor Smirnov unexpectedly lost the elections in Transnistria.
