[_bpo]

No idea why this is near the top of hackernews, but I've been there. One time when I was there, there was a huge billboard in front of the old ministry of culture with the (then) presidents of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria smiling together. The local gag at the time was that this was the "Commonwealth of Unrecognized States" - meanwhile Putin was meeting the Commonwealth of Independent States in Chisnau. [1]

Far be it from me to attempt to summarize a nation in a few sentences, but one would be remiss without following up that article by saying the obvious.... Transnistria is a place run by gangsters. The hammer and sickle are printed on their money to appeal to the old folks who long for the days of Soviet protection, meanwhile everything is for sale - including people. This is a hub for the trafficking of everything.

I don't say this out of love for the state it broke away from, Moldova, the poorest country in Europe, the last communist country in Europe, which has all of the same problems at a different scale.

p.s. no need for endless paperwork - fifteen euros to the border guards will secure your entry no matter where you come from.

[1] http://imgur.com/8wf688Y

edited to change: I wrote "fifty" euros when I meant "fifteen" - I probably overpaid, but not by that much!!

[madaxe_again]

Ditto, drove there a few years back on my way to Kyrgyzstan.

Tn is in seemingly better nick than Moldova from our brief time in each - Russia prop the former up, not the latter. Moldovan roads are cobbled and used by donkeys, not cars - in transnistria they at least had cars and tarmac. It actually seemed less corrupt than Kyrgyzstan, where one gets shaken down by cops ten times daily.

Also, you overpaid, I gave them an authentic British pot noodle.

[Muromec]

>edited to change: I wrote "fifty" euros when I meant "fifteen" - I probably overpaid, but not by that much!!

You sure overpaid. It costs something like 50 UAH (in 2013 rate) if you pay on exit and you would not even miss your bus.

[_bpo]

Perhaps the problem was that I didn't travel by bus :)

Or perhaps I was just consistently ID'd as a foreigner and mark. Either way, fifteen euros to get across that border seemed reasonably sufficient to all.

It's entirely possible that things have changed - I haven't been to Transnistria in several years.

[apendleton]

Tha UAH is much weaker now than in 2013, but even 100 UAH would be really cheap. That's crazy.

[Muromec]

That would buy a "border guard" few beers. Why would he want more for not causing some person a trouble on their way?

The other story if you would have some drugs or make some legit reason to arrest you and demand ransom, but nothing you would not be able to pay anyway.