NCJ Number
236742
Journal
Global Crime Volume: 12 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2011 Pages: 239-265
Date Published
November 2011
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This article looks at the multiple constructions that constitute the image of the Transnistrian Moldovan Republic (PMR).
Abstract
This article looks at the multiple constructions that constitute the image of the Transnistrian Moldovan Republic (PMR), a separatist region located in eastern Moldova. The European Union (EU) and the international community construct the area as a 'black hole', a security and terrorist concern. The PMR has constructed the state's image on the basis of the memory of collective suffering at the hands of Moldovan oppression, in a fashion that resembles state building in nineteenth-century Europe. The best-selling author Nicolai Lilin invests a criminal Ruritania in his fake memoir of criminal tales and exploits. The article shows that a degree of order and legitimate means to make money exist in the PMR while it highlights a key and largely ignored element of the political economy of the PMR, namely the economic role and monopolistic practices of Sheriff and the strong interconnection between politics and economic activities. (Published Abstract)