there are almost 200 official countries
in the world today but there are dozens
more breakaway states determined to be
separate but officially not recognized
some survive peacefully with their own
borders money and presidents but others
are a magnet for terrorists and weapon
smuggling and have armies ready for a
fight welcome to places that don't exist
Moldova sandwiched between Romania and
Ukraine gained independence after the
collapse of the Soviet Union two-thirds
of the people were of Romanian descent
and wanted closer ties with neighbors to
the west
but the eastern side of the country
wanted to retain close links with
Ukraine and Russia war broke out and the
East split to form Transnistria a new
country which even now remains
unrecognized by the rest of the world
my journey began in Kizzy now the
capital of Moldova where I visited a
civil war memorial with my guide Liliana
this is a monument of the glory of those
who died for the independence and the
integrity of the country presumably
these are all Moldovan soldiers rather
than Transnistrian as well
these are definitely those four thoughts
on the mod on one side so I actually
happened in the war justice and
separatists attacked Moldova they were
afraid of motorized moving closer to the
European Union and Romania first of all
Russia backed up Transnistria
separatists the fight stopped after the
intervention of the Russian president at
that time Boris Yeltsin it's been an
uneasy ceasefire it's kind of like a
cold war that it's still lasting between
those two sides
I arrived in Moldova on Independence Day
vladimir verona the president moldova
was leading a service to commemorate
those who died during the fighting with
Transnistria
around 1,500 people were killed on both
sides in the war but the rest of the
world barely noticed those independents
a Moldova that energy celebrating some
transition so officially we see there
one country
I'm transnistria they have their own
Independence Day you guys my little god
but not everyone was celebrating
Independence she singing she was singing
she like astronomia an ayah which means
great and why enlarge is my country so
it was a song about Russia it's quite
provocative to think this kind of song
on the Independence Day of Moldova and
this independence it seen first of all
as independence from Russia Russia
Russia okay
love is fuzzy the woman was taken away
by the police
most people in Moldova are less than two
pounds a day the conflict with
Transnistria hasn't helped away from the
town's work is scarce and unemployment
is high we're not going to make out
there are we when you get outside the
capital Moldova you realize this is
actually a very poor country and
officially it's supposed to be the
poorest country in Europe and we've come
to this village in the southwest of the
country where we've been told that
villages have come up with a rather
extreme method of earning some extra
cash
thirty two men in this village have sold
one of their kidneys to Westerners
desperate for a transplant most were
paid no more than 2,000 pounds do you
know what happened to your kidney do you
know who received it yet oh it went to a
woman around 40 I saw her she was
preparing for the transplant did she
speak to you did you have any
conversation with her yeah I never spoke
to her she had been given the anesthetic
so she was unconscious
I was dragged what did you do with the
money but of aku first I bought a cow
then I renovated the house I bought a
washing machine and clothes for the kids
skeleton that was it it was all gone
in many Moldovan villages only children
and grandparents remain young adults
have gone abroad in search of work
everyone here hasn't seen her mother for
five months her mother's gone to Moscow
so she can't get a job here so she's
gone to Russia to earn some money around
a million Moldovans are thought to have
left the country
we'd been invited to meet the president
at his official villa on our way Liliana
explained why Transnistria matters to
him
president Aronian this is a personal
issue because he's born there his mother
lives in Transnistria and for Verona and
that's also a personal matter
especially that for the past two years
he hasn't been allowed they told to go
there to travel to cross the river and
see his mother so yes it is a very
important issue for president huronian
if I'm not surprised as president in his
Dean's let's can say hello what goes for
it come on in come on it's very very
very nice fault did he say that it had
spots like President Gorbachev yeah it's
a true communist cat cynical side of me
thinks he's replaced here they say we
see what lovely chap he is do you want
us to carry you any honors go huh my
heels I guess like me she thought we'd
be in an office having a chat so we got
dressed up which I mean how transport
was a bit of a mistake there the
President had decided to take us fishing
why should the rest of the world be
worried about the Transnistrian
situation what's going on there that the
rest of Europe should be concerned about
but also to observe zq lumetri the
Qatari position Moldova Moldova has a
480 kilometer border with the Ukraine
and the section in Transnistria is not
controlled and via this there's
uncontrolled migration contraband arms
trafficking the trafficking of human
beings and drugs into money so traffic
the Grover Grover fulfilled FLD platoon
these operations are being legitimized
by the separatist regime it is
separatist Carolyn it's a black hole of
corruption and trafficking there are 13
enterprises in Transnistria that are
producing arms non-stop what Scalia's
but Scalia's adieu beep intro Carrie the
president cut short his allegations
because he'd caught a fish the president
then insisted we celebrate national
independence with a glass or two of fine
Moldovan cognac it's very hard to refuse
president when we are you
kanya and we have to get through the
entire bottle this is not about alcohol
or getting drunk I'm very proud of
Moldova and cognac and I want to promote
it when your global doughnut I totally
approve of this the fact that you have
not considered is my complete inability
to drink alcohol by the time the first
lady returned from shopping
we were finishing the second bottle that
night the whole of Kizzy now seem to be
celebrating at a huge Independence Party
we left Liliana to drive to what is
still officially part of Moldova even if
the Moldovan president can't come here
we're just coming up to the border
between Transnistria and Moldova now at
the moment we're in the what is
essentially a demilitarized zone between
Moldova in Transnistria just before we
arrived
Transnistria banned the teaching of
Moldovan in their schools allowing only
Russian Moldova responded with an
economic blockade can we film yet hello
nice at the border I met Larisa there
would be my guide in Transnistria and to
see your reaction to everything and now
are we on are we in Transnistria now I
believe yes this is gender teru teru
Transnistria now alaska's with us in the
mostly commuted moistly my we just
wanted to film our arrival in
Transnistria but the border guards have
come over in a very Soviet way and tried
to take the camera away and stop us but
now we're having a little bit of a
discussion with them a healthy
discussion about the fact that we are
already registered it's already
hopefully legitimate for us to be here
we passed through customs and border
posts cross the river dividing the two
countries and were allowed into
Transnistria
a short drive took us to Tara's port the
capital where soviet-era statues are
still standing it's quite rare to see
statues of Lenin still standing - people
look back fondly on the Soviet times no
you know just we do not carry out
so you choose not to destroy it was made
by a good sculpture it is made of a good
material it expresses something like a
stain it's quite a small bed but in this
hotel
apparently there's only one double room
that's been booked up by the customs
committee whatever that is the any other
problem we've been told with this hotel
and other hotels like is that we will be
watched and we will be listening to so I
suspect based on what we've told that
the rooms are bugged by the
Transnistrian KGB who are really just
operating as if it was still Soviet
times
there's certainly a Soviet air to
tiraspol but there were none of the
armed men Moldovans had told us we'd
seen loitering around the streets
well you sorted is something bad and for
us Soviet is a good word it was at the
time of a very good and stable life but
it doesn't mean that the luck is the
same as it was in the times of the
Soviet Union it's quite different we are
realistic people and we understand that
everything has changed we have our
passports so this is a Transnistrian
passport who recognizes this passport we
do this there's anybody else
just been accosted by an official from
the Transnistrian bank it wants us to
come to an exhibition they're having
here for the 10th anniversary of the
Transnistrian ruble see the rest of the
world might not think this place exists
but they have their own stamps their own
government their own present and their
own money printing money is one of the
major steps for a breakaway state trying
to secure independence the Moldovan
government was furious when
transnistria's began issuing their own
currency so why they no pictures of the
President on your notes your store knows
we don't have a cult of personality of
the presidency lianca is prettier
previous tours come on the history of
our republic is very short we don't have
many modern heroes that's why the
banknotes have portraits of the people
who've influenced our development
banknote immune suppression is finished
Kingi - this is a huge steel work some
metal factory one of the largest in the
former Soviet Union they used to export
all over the former Soviet Union in the
in the old days during the Cold War now
obviously it's part of Transnistria
there's a lot of rumors that they're
producing arms here in secret factories
this place is absolutely huge anything
I've ever been anywhere quite so fast
such a fast industrial class
they can be hiding any number of arms
factories here and we would never be
able to see them
people in Moldova often like to claim 23
account function as a full state doesn't
have the necessary industry or
infrastructure become a you actually
realize it clearly does have massive
autonomy
in fact some people here have suggested
to us if it's mulled over that can't
function as a steak transnistria will be
the one that survived during Soviet
times most of the heavy industry in
moldova was concentrated in Transnistria
when the territory proclaimed
independence it kept the biggest most
productive factories but buyers abroad
don't recognize trans nisha exists and
after the blockade imposed by Moldova
factories are stockpiling Goods and
laying off workers on this one you can
see the country of destination is
supposed to be the United Kingdom and
they can't send it because of the
blockade but also interestingly it has
made in Moldova gospel teaches viewers
the action Moldova is taking against
Transnistria his economic story was a
creative one where the Tripura
Transnistria has survived for 14 years
without support from Moldova all the
rest of the world it is a big one is
linear it has everything it needs to
survive whether Moldova likes it or not
the more traditional approach to our
model
another thing that people outside
Transnistria have said to us is that
this Factory is one of several producing
armaments producing weapons last year we
haven't got time we've got no time to
produce weapons just deal
Transnistria is thought to be a major
producer of arms and guns from here have
turned up in Chechnya in Africa but
nobody really knows what's going on
international organizations don't
recognize Transnistria exists so they're
not able to visit and investigate
Transnistria shares a border with the
Ukraine and it's notoriously porous
there's all sorts of goods being
smuggled across from cigarettes and
alcohol through to quite serious weapons
that are being produced in Transnistria
away from the prying eyes of the
international community give you an idea
of just how easy it is to smuggle in
this region where I'm standing now is in
Transnistria and this road here takes
you further into Transnistria but if we
cross over here to these fields and
where I'm standing now we're actually in
the Ukraine so we just cross the border
illegally but there's no guards or
border post to stop us there's not even
a line indicating we're on a border an
international border between two
countries and this is what smugglers do
they'll come down here in a car or a van
they can get into the Ukraine on
well-worn tracks like this one in front
of us here when they're in the Ukraine
they can get to the Black Sea port of
Odessa and from there they can ship
goods and weapons to the rest of the
world
it's not just at the unofficial border
crossings that goods are being smuggled
across they're also being smuggled
across official crossings like the one
down there
the Transnistrian and the Ukranian
customs authority which is on the other
side are both notoriously corrupt
there's always goods being passed back
and forth with the tacit agreement of
some customs officials and the
Transnistrian customs authority is
actually controlled by the president's
son the president's son is also alleged
to be involved with a company called
sheriff which Interpol is claimed is
linked to arms trafficking the firm has
just built a multi-million pound
football stadium where moldova who have
no such stadiums play their
international games pressive ground what
got vodka we're preparing for the World
Cup game against Italy when the
president of FIFA Sepp Blatter saw this
he said wonderful beautiful our good
apart from this stadium Sheriff also
owned supermarkets petrol stations and a
mobile phone network some people refer
to Transnistria as the Republic of
Sheriff so it's called sheriff because
the two men who started it were both
used to be Soviet police officers they
but the Muslim leadership we think of
yes and also because almost all of the
people who work for the club are members
of the police force or were officers in
the Russian or Soviet army oh yeah I
should sort of as a basa sorry Otsuka
ramirez sk what happened I was a colonel
in the Russian army before I resigned
two days later the Moldovan zan ounce
their upcoming match against Italy would
in fact be played in Moldova's crumbling
Stadium rather than give Transnistria
any publicity Moldova lost 1 nil what
just came around the front of the
building because we've been told there's
Mercedes showroom of all things in the
front of the stadium complex again I say
these cars being sold in the country
where people are only peanuts for wages
it's a little Lord but like everywhere
in former Soviet Union
some people earn a lot of money and most
people earn next to nothing
how much does this cost
so this is $60,000 to buy so that's
about 40,000 British pounds but yes
you've conserve Russia will feel my
premiere-minister
villa Ko Britannica speeds in Blair if
as a result of your film the British
prime minister officially recognizes the
existence of the Transnistrian Republic
then you'll receive this car as a gift
this car is a gift
yeah right have I got Danny fries number
I'm just gonna move my Delphi let's get
him on the phone
huge crowds came out to celebrate
Transnistrian Independence Day although
the population of Transnistria is only
around 600,000 its forces match those of
Moldova leading to military stalemate
between the two igor smirnov the
Transnistrian president was taking the
salute be marching the soldiers the
emblems and particular music it just
strikes me the win when most
it's quite incredible as a complete
throwback
why don't we ask if we can just say
hello to the president and ask him a few
questions mr. president can we just ask
what does Independence Day mean to you
and does it disappoint you that the rest
of the world is not here to celebrate
with you you pushed me you're as Ichiro
I'm not at all disappointed well being
by ourselves as though it's swaying
Prado we got oh very much we're happy to
receive guests from all over the world
we don't want to ask them for anything
we'd like to learn something from a
sample which sheets to do miss
independence means protecting all the
generations who live here regardless of
their nationality Moldovans Ukrainians
Russians I don't want to list everyone
there are 46 in all let's earn at least
that's actually the foreign minister of
mahadji which is a breakaway state in
Georgia so although representatives from
the European Union or America aren't
attending these celebrations in
Transnistria representatives of
breakaway state to here they're the only
ones who will really recognize
transmitters independence but they don't
count because nobody recognizes them
either the celebrations went on all day
Transnistrian seemed completely
committed to their independence nobody I
met wanted reunification with Moldova
what is this greatness here in
Transnistria even those Moldovan you
know some people hate you for me in
sushi
the celebrations today started with a
quite tradition almost Soviet feel but
they're ending with huge party fireworks
Russian pop stars have been flown in
especially for a great big party for
everyone
let's transition into menos de today
most of the headline acts in this corner
tonight Russia or Moldova Tencent to the
west transpiration is in Europe
discussion definiteness to the easy
the Russian army still provides security
for Transnistria and has a secret
military base in the north of the
country the base is believed to contain
an ammunition stockpile which Western
intelligence experts fear is already
falling into the wrong hands and could
reach terrorist groups obviously we
would have liked to get a little bit
closer to this base but the Russians
said that we couldn't visit them and
every road we go down trying to get
closer we find there's a military
blockade so going to have to creep
through the bushes a little bit and even
then we're going to be a feral distance
away but that's been a bit strange doing
this actually I mean 15 years ago this
was still part of the Soviet Union and
we'd be Westerners creeping towards a
secret military base now if we get
caught we'll probably just be told off
or arrested or held for a while
but then we'd have probably been tried
as spies so the base only canceled eat
we can see the outline of the there's a
car game plus a car just blimp a
thesaurus and slowed down just as I was
getting like that oh well if we get
caught we get caught I mean we have to
make up some story about making a film
about the beautiful Transnistrian
countryside taking the country air
looking at the lovely trees the secret
Russian military base is it really oh I
had no idea policeman a soldier turned
up
we might be arrested we're not sure we
thought we a fairly safe distance away
from the Russian base the police has
taken our identification papers and our
accreditation passports the lot they
were very very fast I mean we're a good
I don't know mild kilometer from the
from the base the transmission KGB soon
turned up we were detained as spies
questioned and all our equipment was
confiscated eventually everything was
returned to us but we realized it was
time to leave ok ok yeah the bus parking
fuck did it get Oh funny beautiful work
everybody be careful everybody stay
there sasha was ridiculous
but I'm moving a little bit it's a
little bit better