The mass media of

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

, the breakaway territory within the borders of

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, features both state-owned or supported outlets and opposition media. Publications are in

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, with a single newspaper in each of the other two official languages, Moldovan (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

), and Ukrainian.

Media outlets

Print media

Transnistria has 14 newspapers, including several daily papers. Some print media does not have a large circulation, and only appears on a weekly or monthly basis. The oldest newspaper is the '' Dnestrovskaya Pravda'', founded in 1941 in Tiraspol. The

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

claims that the media climate in

is restrictive and that authorities of both banks of

Dniester The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...

engage in efforts to silence their respective opposition. In 2005, according to the U.S. Department of State, authorities harassed independent newspapers when they criticized the Transnistrian government. Most Moldovan newspapers did not circulate widely in Transnistria, although they were available in Tiraspol. However, several opposition newspapers exist in Transnistria. They include

Rîbnița Rîbnița ( or , , ) or Rybnitsa (; ) is a town in the breakaway state, breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria. According to the 2004 Census in Transnistria, 2004 census, it has a population of 53,648. Rîbnița is situated in the northern half ...

-based ''Dobry Den'', ''Chelovek i ego prava'' (''Man and His Rights''), ''Novaya Gazeta'' from Bender, '' Russian Proriv!'', ''Profsoyuznye Vesti'' and ''Glas Naroda''. The '' Tiraspol Times'' was an English-language website. Article from it were always featured in the official website Pridnestrovie.net. Newspapers published by the government or in favour of the government include '' Trudovoi Tiraspol'', ''Pridnestrovye'', ''Novy Dnestrovskiy Kuryer'', ''Gomin'' (in Ukrainian), ''Adevărul Nistrean'' (in Moldovan, but written in the

Cyrillic alphabet The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Easte ...

Radio broadcasting

A state owned radio station, "Radio PMR", broadcasts both via FM and on frequency 7290 kHz shortwave, 41 meter band, as well as via the Internet. Four privately owned commercial radio stations broadcast on FM from Transnistria. They are: "Inter FM", "Dynamite FM", "EnergyRadio.FM", "Frequence3". The owners of opposition newspaper "Novaia Gazeta" plan to establish an independent radio station.

Television broadcasting

There are four TV channels in Transnistria. Two of them are local (to Tiraspol and Tighina/Bender), while two of them cover all of Transnistria. Television in Transnistria was for a long time dominated by the public service company

TV PMR The First Transnistrian or First Pridnestrovian (; / , ; ), also known as TV PMR, is a public television channel from Transnistria, an unrecognized republic internationally recognized as part of Moldova. It began broadcasting on 9 August 1992 a ...

. In 1998, Transnistria's first commercial channel, TSV (''Television of Free Choice'') was started.

Cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

operator "MultiTV" carries 24 television channels for its "premium" package and 5 channels for "social" package. Moldovan TV stations from outside Transnistria are not available through cable but can be seen via an aerial. However

ProTV PRO TV (, often stylized as PRO•TV since 2017) is a Romanian free-to-air television network, launched on 1 December 1995 as the fourth private TV channel in the country (after TV SOTI, Antena 1, and the now-defunct, but online Tele7ABC). It is o ...

and NIT, two private channels based in Chişinău, was introduced to on most cable networks in Transnistria from September 2009 and 1 November 2007 respectively.

Telecommunications

Internet

Transnistrian internet media has both state-owned and privately operated entities. In Russian, the websites include RIA Dniester (news agency),
Olvia Press
(official state news agency, now '' Novosti Pridnestrovya'')
Tiraspol Info
(news aggregator)
Pridnestrovie.info
Many political organizations and government departments also have their own news services and online news pages, not listed here.
RIA Dniester
' has been blocked by Transnistrian authorities since November 8, 2012 according to the website. In August 2014, Yevgeny Shevchuk issued a decree on combating extremism that empowered the Transnistrian KGB to request the prosecutor's office to block internet content. Authorities would take such a determination following a review by a panel appointed by the KGB.

Media freedom and pluralism

Transnistrian media environment is restrictive, and is dominated numerically by state-owned media (e.g. ''Pridnestrovie'' and ''Dnestrovskaya Pravda'', which are the region major newspapers), or by media controlled through public institutions, such as State Tele-radio Company and State Service media. They are subsidized, heavily politicized, and do not criticize the authorities.

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

company dominates the private media market, including private broadcasting,

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

, and

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

service. Sheriff represents a "so-called opposition" according to IPRE. According to an IREX report they serve the interest of the company. There are some independent newspapers or magazines, with small circulation and little advertising, but they have been able to create a space of freedom of expression. They receive threats from the authorities, that sometimes even take direct control. The government hinders critical media and journalists are intimidated. Since 2014 government agencies, private organizations, and citizens are required to report instances of "extremist" material online. Journalists expressing opinions different from those of the media owners are easily dismissed.

Self-censorship Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse, typically out of fear or deference to the perceived preferences, sensibilities, or infallibility of others, and often without overt external pressure. Self-censorship is c ...

is practised, with local press avoiding subjects questioning the Transnistrian goal of independence or criticizing the pro-Russian foreign policy. Media of Moldova have little presence in Transnistria, being available mainly in

Tiraspol Tiraspol (, ; also /; , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Transnistria, a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the third-largest city. The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River. Tiraspol is a regional hub of cul ...

. Moldovan channels are blocked. Moldovan journalists need accreditation to enter the country, and they are sometimes denied entrance or detained. In 2015 activist and journalist Serghei Ilcenko was detained for four months. The Transnistrian KGB then warned other activists who were accused of having posted "extremist messages" on the internet and, in general, warned internet users to trust only official sources, and not to contest Transnistrian independence. On September 1, 2014 Transnistrian police detained a television crew from

Publika TV Publika TV was a Moldovan broadcast news television station. It was launched on April 7, 2010, their founders being the Romanian businessman Sorin Ovidiu Vîntu and the Moldovan businessman Vladimir Plahotniuc.Corjova village to produce a piece on the first day of school at a Latin script school. Transnistrian police detained the crew on the grounds that they lacked a special authorization from the Transnistrian Security Service. After a few hours of interrogation, police released the crew. In April, 2022, American journalist Collin Mayfield was detained by Transnistrian police before being strip searched and interrogated at the Ministry of State Security (MGB) headquarters in Tiraspol. Mayfield, who had previously been covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was deported to Moldova on charges of violating a 2016 media law against criticizing Russian troops in Transnistria.

Transnistrian propaganda

In 2006, ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' reported that an alleged propagandistic campaign, aimed at English-speaking audience had been underway. This was done through an agency entitled the " International Council for Democratic Institutions and State Sovereignty" (ICDISS). It was claimed in The Economist that the ICDISS had links to a number of English-language websites that were all pro-Transnistrian but had very few details about how and where they are produced. In particular, it highlighted the Wikipedia article on the group
Pridnestrovie.net
an
Visitpmr.com
The latter two are both described as "propaganda sites for Transdniestria". ''pridnestrovie.net'' and ''visitpmr.com'' have acknowledged help from the ICDISS . The ICDISS email is run by someone self-named Ms Stephenson, also interviewed in ''Tiraspol Times''.

International Council for Democratic Institutions and State Sovereignty

The council is credited with producing a report in support of Transdniestrian independence. All but one of the alleged authors of the report has since denied involvement in the study. The case has provoked suspicions among Western officials like Louis O'Neill, the head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova. Journalist Edward Lucas, who wrote the original ''Economist'' story about the organization, says he could find little information about the think tank. "What's really remarkable is that nobody's been able to produce any credible proof or verifiable proof that they have any existence," Lucas says.,

Pridnestrovie.net

The websites quote a number of Westerners marvelling at Tiraspol's new football stadium or saying Transdniester is the French Riviera compared to Moldova proper. Quotes from the site:
''It has a free market economy, 200% growth, and a multi-party democracy with the opposition in control of parliament.''

Tiraspol Times (tiraspoltimes.com)

Tiraspol Times was a short lived (2006–2008) English language news provider focused on

. It published an online newspaper, a free news feed service, and, according to its own site, a weekly colour magazine and a print newspaper in tabloid format available at "select locations" in Transnistria, but not abroad and with no subscription available. It professed to be "committed to the truth" and whose content was largely dedicated to effusive praise of the government or endorsing independence. Online texts by the ''Tiraspol Times'' were licensed as freely distributable. Articles from it have been reprinted by

UNPO The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is an international organization established to facilitate the voices of unrepresented and marginalized Nation, nations and peoples worldwide. It was formed on 11 February 1991 at the P ...

and by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

' ''Global Action on Aging,'' as well as various news organizations. ''Tiraspol Times'' has been criticised as being strongly biased in favour of the Transnistrian authorities and Transnistrian independence.''

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

''
"Moldova: In Cyberspace, Transdniester Doesn't Look That Bad"
15 September 2006 A report in the ''

Economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

'' described it as part of a concerted online campaign to promote Transnistria through expertly produced websites, saying that its background and funding were largely undisclosed.''

"Disinformation: Covering tracks - How to disguise, inflate and disappear on the internet"
', 3 August 2006 The ''

'' claims that its content was "largely dedicated to effusive praise of the government or endorsing independence", while the ''

'' associates them with ICDISS, which it alleges is an

astroturfing Astroturfing is the deceptive practice of hiding the Sponsor (commercial), sponsors of an orchestrated message or organization (e.g., political, economic, advertising, religious, or public relations) to make it appear as though it originates from ...

attempt. ''Economist'' also names ''Tiraspol Times'' an online magazine produced "expertly, but mysteriously, in support of the authorities". The site published few ads and its funding sources are not known. Edward Lucas, a journalist for ''Economist'', suggested it could have received its funding either from the government, from

Vladimir Antyufeyev Vladimir Yuryevich Antyufeyev (; born 19 February 1951), also known under the assumed name Vadim Shevtsov or Vladimir Shevtsov is a politician and former OMON officer who was one of the organizers in attempt to overthrow the Latvian government ...

's State Security Committee or from one of the Transnistrian companies. This claim proved to be incorrect as it was in fact owned and funded by Desmond Grant, a prominent Irish newspaper publisher. Tom de Waal, a London-based journalist and author, was outraged to see an article under his name appear on the "Tiraspol Times" website. "I've certainly never been to Pridnestrovie, Transdneister, or Moldova, and I am certainly not arguing, as is written under my name, that Pridnestrovie has a better case for independence than Kosovo," de Waal said.

References

External links

Media Guide of the Republic of Moldova 2008
(also covers Transnistria. List of publishers, news agencies and broadcasters, in Romanian and English.)

Radio Free Europe
Freedom House: Transnistria, 2014 Report

"Moldova", state.gov (incl. Transnistria)
PDF
Media Freedom in Moldova (incl. Transnistria)
KAS
"The Report on press freedom and media in Moldova", 2015
Freedom House

Media websites

Novosti Pridnestrovya

RIA Dniester

tiras.ru

Parliamentary press service
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Media Of Transnistria *