The Stability of the Dniester Moldovan Republic: A Post-Election Analysis

The communists\u27 electoral victory and the elevation of Voronin to the Presidency drew Moldova closer to the Russian Federation and raised new questions about the stability of the Dniester Moldovan Republic. The existence of the DMR no longer serves Russian interests as it did in the past. The prospects for confrontation between the DMR and Moldova are greater today as a result of the Communist Party victory. While President Voronin has privately expressed his disdain for the DMR leadership, he seems willing to accept the existence of the DMR. By the latter part of the past decade, the DMR existed primarily as a vehicle for criminal activities rather than as a bastion of Stalinism and Russian nationalism. Weapons left behind by Soviet forces have made the DMR a major factor in illegal arms trafficking