Tiraspol (, ; also /; , ; , ) is the capital and largest city 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 ...

, a

breakaway state Breakaway or Break Away may refer to: Film, television and radio * ''Breakaway'' (1955 film), a British film * ''Breakaway'' (1966 film), an American short film by Bruce Conner * ''Breakaway'' (1990 film), an Australian film featuring Deborah ...

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. ...

, where it is the third-largest city. The city is located on the eastern bank of the

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 ...

River. Tiraspol is a regional hub of culture, economy, tourism, and

light industry Light industry are Industry (economics), industries that usually are less Capital intensity, capital-intensive than heavy industry, heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consum ...

, such as furniture and electrical goods production. The modern city of Tiraspol was founded by the Russian

generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ), also generalissimus, is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative ...

Alexander Suvorov Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy () was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire. Born in Moscow, he studied military history as a young boy and joined the Imperial Russian ...

in 1792, although the area had been inhabited for thousands of years by varying ethnic groups. The city celebrates its anniversary every year on 14 October.

Etymology

The

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

consists of two

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

words: , ''

Tyras Tyras () was an ancient Greek city on the northern coast of the Black Sea. It was founded by colonists from Miletus, probably about 600 BC. The city was situated some 10 km from the mouth of the Tyras River, which is now called the Dn ...

'', the

Ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

name for the

Dniester River 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 ...

, and ''

polis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...

'', i.e., a city (state).

History

Classical and medieval history

(), also spelled ''Tiras'', was a

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

of the Greek city

Miletus Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and ex ...

, probably founded about 600 BC, situated some from the mouth of the Tiras River (Dniester). Of no great importance in early times, in the second century BC it fell under the dominion of

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

kings whose names appear on its coins. It was destroyed by the

Thracian The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between north-eastern Greece, ...

Getae The Getae or Getai ( or , also Getans) were a large nation who inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania, throughout much of Classical Antiquity. The main source of informa ...

about 50 BC. In 56 AD, the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

restored the city and made it part of the colonial province of

Lower Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballia ...

. A series of its coins exist that feature heads of Roman emperors from

Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...

Severus Alexander Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – March 235), also known as Alexander Severus, was Roman emperor from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. Alexander took power in 222, when he succeeded his slain c ...

. Soon after the time of the latter, the city was destroyed again, this time by the invasion of the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

. Its government was in the hands of five

archon ''Archon'' (, plural: , ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem , meaning "to be first, to rule", derived from the same ...

s, a

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, a

popular assembly A popular assembly (or people's assembly) is a gathering called to address issues of importance to participants. Popular assemblies tend to be freely open to participation, in contrast to elected assemblies and randomly-selected citizens' as ...

, and a registrar. The images on its coins from this period suggest a trade in wheat, wine, and fish. The few inscriptions extant are mostly concerned with trade. Such ancient

archeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...

remains are scanty, as the city site was built over by the great medieval fortress of Monocastro or

Akkerman Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi (, ; ; ), historically known as Aq Kirmān () or by other names, is a port city in Odesa Oblast, southwestern Ukraine. It is situated on the right bank of the Dniester Estuary leading to the Black Sea, in the historical r ...

. In the

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

, the area around of modern Tiraspol became part of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

. The Lithuanians, unable to settle their vast state on their own, allowed Moldavian settlement in the area.

Tsarist Russian rule

The

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

conquered its way to the

River, taking territory from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. In 1792 the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

built fortifications to guard the western border near a Moldavian village named Sucleia. Field Marshal

is considered the founder of modern Tiraspol; his statue is the city's most distinctive landmark. The city took its name from ''

'', the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

name of the Dniester River on which it stands. It was granted city rights in 1795. In 1828, the Russian government established a customs house in Tiraspol to try to suppress

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

. The customs house was subordinated to the chief of the

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

customs region. It began operations with 14 employees. They inspected shipments of bread, paper, oil, wine, sugar, fruits and other goods. In December 1917, Tiraspol hosted a congress of Transnistrian Moldovans, at which they wished to unite the city with

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

Soviet Tiraspol

After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, the

Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic The Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, shortened to Moldavian ASSR, was an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics, autonomous republic of the Ukrainian SSR between 12 October 1924 and 2 August 1940, encompassing the modern territory ...

was created in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

in 1924, with Balta as its capital. The republic had

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 ...

, Ukrainian and Russian as its official languages. Its capital was moved in 1929 to Tiraspol, which remained the capital of the Moldavian ASSR until 1940. In 1940, following the secret provisions of the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...

, the USSR forced Romania to cede

. It integrated Tiraspol, until then part of the

Moldavian ASSR The Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, shortened to Moldavian ASSR, was an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics, autonomous republic of the Ukrainian SSR between 12 October 1924 and 2 August 1940, encompassing the modern territory ...

, into the newly formed

Moldavian SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic or Moldavian SSR (, mo-Cyrl, Република Советикэ Сочиалистэ Молдовеняскэ), also known as the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldovan SSR, Soviet Moldavia, Sovie ...

. On 7 August 1941, following the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, the city was taken over by Romanian troops. Later that month, on 19 August, the

Tiraspol Agreement The Tiraspol Agreement (; ) was an agreement between Nazi Germany and Kingdom of Romania, Romania signed on 19 August 1941 in the city of Tiraspol (now in Moldova, under Transnistrian control) regarding the Romanian administration of the region o ...

establishing the

Transnistria Governorate The Transnistria Governorate () was a Romanian-administered territory between the Dniester and Southern Bug, conquered by the Axis Powers from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa. A Romanian civilian administration governed the territo ...

was signed. During the occupation, Tiraspol was under Romanian administration. During that period almost all of its Jewish population died: they were slain ''in situ'' or deported to German Nazi

death camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...

s, and killed there. Tiraspoljet

In 1941, before the occupation, the newspaper '' Dnestrovskaya Pravda'' was founded by the Tiraspol City Council of popular deputies. This is the oldest periodical publication in the region. On 12 April 1944, the city was retaken by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

and became again part of the Moldavian SSR. According to a 1991 figure by Moldova's Ministry of National Security (now the Security and Intelligence Service, SIS), of the 5,485 people who were sentenced to death in the territory of modern Moldova during totalitarian communist rule, over 4,000 of them were executed in Tiraspol, in the , in 1937 and 1938 alone, during the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

Post-secession

On 27 January 1990, the citizens in Tiraspol passed a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

declaring the city as an independent territory. The nearby city of

Bendery Bender (, ) or Bendery (, ; ), also known as Tighina ( mo-Cyrl, Тигина, links=no), is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under ''de facto'' control of the unrecognized Transnistria, Pridnestrovian Moldavian Rep ...

also declared its independence from

. As the Russian-speaking independence movement gained momentum, some local governments banded together to resist pressure from the

n government for nationalization. Calle Tiraspol

On 2 September 1990, Tiraspol was proclaimed the capital of the new

Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (PMSSR), also commonly known as Soviet Transnistria or simply as Transnistria, was created on the eastern periphery of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (MSSR) in 1990 by pro-Soviet s ...

. The new republic was not officially recognized by Soviet authorities; however, it received support from some important Soviet leaders, such as

Anatoly Lukyanov Anatoly Ivanovich Lukyanov (, 7 May 1930 – 9 January 2019) was a Russian Communist politician who was the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR between 15 March 1990 and 4 September 1991. One of the founders of the Communist Party of the ...

. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the territory east of the Dniester River declared independence as the

Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a landlocked breakaway state internationally recognized as part of Moldova. It controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dni ...

(PMR), with Tiraspol as its capital. It was not recognized by the international community. Helden-Denkmal Tiraspol 2012

On 1 July 2005, the Lucian Blaga Lyceum, a high school with Romanian as its language of instruction, was registered as a Transnistrian non-governmental establishment. The registration of six Romanian language schools has been the subject of negotiations with the government since 2000. The tension increased in the summer of 2004, when the Transnistrian authorities forcibly closed the schools that taught using the

Latin script The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae in Magna Graecia. The Gree ...

. According to the official PMR view, this is considered as

. " Moldovan", written in the

Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, Mongolic, Uralic languages, Uralic, C ...

, is one of the three official languages in the PMR; Romanian is not. Some economic measures and counter-measures were taken on both banks of the Dniester. Tensions have been seen in

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

incidents. On 6 July 2006, an explosion, believed to be caused by a bomb, killed at least eight people in a minibus. Later on 13 August, a grenade exploded in a

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

, killing two and injuring ten. On 25 April 2022, during the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, several explosions were reported near the

Ministry of State Security (Transnistria) The Ministry of State Security (, , ) is the Transnistrian National security, state security Ministry (government department), service. History It was formed May 16, 1992 and was headed by Vladimir Antyufeyev up to 2012, until he was replaced b ...

in Tiraspol. Firefighters were on the scene but there were no casualties. On 17 March 2024, Transnistrian official press released a video allegedly showing a

Mil Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union, Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) in the 1960s and introduced into the ...

helicopter in poor condition and likely not in use, not having been moved in over 13 years at the moment of the explosion, in a military unit in Tiraspol being attacked and destroyed by a kamikaze drone. No victims were reported. Transnistria claimed the drone had been launched from Ukraine from the direction of

, more precisely from a bridge located from the nearest border crossing between Transnistria and Ukraine. Ukraine immediately denied having anything to do with the incident. On the day of the incident, the

Bureau for Reintegration of the Republic of Moldova Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administra ...

called it an "attempt to provoke panic and fear in the region". Later, on 25 March, the bureau confirmed the explosion of the helicopter was not caused by a drone attack but by "other factors" and that the video contained "obvious elements of video montage". In the video, the drone disappears shortly before the explosion below the helicopter occurs. Reportedly, explosives placed under the helicopter were detonated remotely instead. On 8 January 2025, during the 2025 Moldovan energy crisis, a woman in Tiraspol died from

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as " flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large ...

after using a gas water heater to shower without having a

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typical ...

Geography and climate

Tiraspol features a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

that closely borders an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

and has transitional features of the

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

due to its warm summers. Summers are mild, with average monthly temperatures at around in July and August. Winters are cold, with average temperatures in the coldest month (January) at . Precipitation is relatively evenly spread throughout the year, though there is a noticeable increase in monthly precipitation in June and July. Tiraspol on average sees nearly of precipitation per year.

Demographics

Population

The population of the city was about 190,000 in 1989 and about 203,000 in 1992. 41% were

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

, 32%

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

(both Eastern Slavic) and 18% were

Moldovans Moldovans, sometimes referred to as Moldavians (, , ), are an ethnic group native to Moldova, who mostly speak the Romanian language, also referred to locally as Moldovan language, Moldovan. Moldovans form significant communities in Romania, It ...

(Romanians). As result of the political and economic situation that followed the proclamation of the independent (unrecognized)

, as well as large Jewish emigration in the early 1990s, the population of the city fell below its 1989 number and the 2004 Transnistrian census put its population at 158,069. In 1897, 31,616 people lived in the city of Tiraspol, who were classified, by language, in the following way: In 1926, 29,700 people lived in the city of Tiraspol who were classified, by ethnicity, as follows: ; According to the Soviet census of 1939, the city's population was 43,676 inhabitants, distributed as follows: ;2004

Religion

The Latin Catholic minority is served by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chișinău. In the fourteenth century, Tiraspol was the see city of the diocese of Kherson; in 1848, a Roman Catholic Diocese of Tiraspol was erected with its see in Saratov. Since 1993, it did not cover any Moldovan territory, not even Tiraspol. The diocese was suppressed in 2002.

Culture

The statue of Alexander Suvorov was erected in the central square in 1979 in commemoration of his 250th anniversary. In front of the Transnistrian Government building there is a statue of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

. On the opposite side of the central square, a monument plaza features a Soviet

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries, and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, ...

tank, commemorating the Soviet victory in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, an eternal flame to those who fell defending the city in 1941 and liberating it in 1944, as well as several monuments dedicated to more recent conflicts, including the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...

and the

War of Transnistria The Transnistria War (; ) was an armed conflict that broke out on 2 November 1990 in Dubăsari between pro-Transnistria (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, PMR) forces, including the Transnistrian Republican Guard, militia and neo- Cossack un ...

Sport

The two main football clubs are

Sheriff Tiraspol Fotbal Club Sheriff Tiraspol (), commonly known as Sheriff Tiraspol or simply Sheriff, is a professional football club based in Tiraspol, a city located in the unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria, that plays in the Liga, the top tier o ...

and

FC Tiraspol FC Tiraspol was a Moldovan football (soccer), football club based in Tiraspol, Moldova. They played in the Moldovan National Division, Divizia Naţională, the top division in Moldovan football. Founded in 1992 as ''Constructorul Chișinău'', ...

. Sheriff is the most successful Moldovan football club of recent history, winning 14 league titles since the 2000–2001 season, and 6

Moldovan Cup Cupa Moldovei (), officially known as Cupa Orange Group, Orange for sponsorship reasons, is a association football, football competition, held annually in Moldova. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round. Finals Th ...

s. The team gained world notoriety for their last-minute 2–1 victory during the

2021–22 UEFA Champions League The 2021–22 UEFA Champions League was the 67th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 30th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid de ...

edition against later tournament winners Real Madrid on 28 September 2021. A third club,

CS Tiligul-Tiras Tiraspol SC Tiligul-Tiras Tiraspol was a Moldovan association football, football club based in Tiraspol. They played in the Moldovan National Division, Divizia Națională, the top division in Moldovan football. Their home stadium was Stadionul Municipal ...

, withdrew from competition prior to the 2009–2010 season. Tiraspol is home to the

Sheriff Stadium Sheriff Arena (; ) is home to FC Sheriff Tiraspol, Sheriff Tiraspol, a football team based in Tiraspol, capital of Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova. It is owned by the local Sheriff (company), Sheriff corporation. It has a capacity of ...

, the largest capacity stadium in the region, with a capacity of 14,300 seats.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Bălți Bălți () is a city in Moldova. It is the second-largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after Chișinău. The city holds the status of municipiu. Sometimes called "the northern capital", it is a major industrial, cu ...

, Moldova *

Comrat Comrat (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in Moldova and the capital of the autonomous region of Gagauzia. It is located in the south of the country, on the Ialpug River. In 2014, Comrat's population was 20,113, of which the vast majority are ...

, Moldova *

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, Norway (2000) *

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

, Russia *

Kaluga Kaluga (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia. It stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Its population was 337,058 at the 2021 census. Kaluga's most famous residen ...

, Russia *

Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...

, Russia *

Obninsk Obninsk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the bank of the Protva River southwest of Moscow and northeast of Kaluga. Its population is 125,376 at the 2021 census. History The history of ...

, Russia *

Severodvinsk Severodvinsk (; ) is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina, west of Arkhangelsk, the administrative center of the oblast. As of the 2021 Census, the population was 157,213. Due to the p ...

, Russia *

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

, Russia *

Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( ), also known as Nikolaev ( ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and a hromada (municipality) in southern Ukraine. Mykolaiv is the Administrative centre, administrative center of Mykolaiv Raion (Raions of Ukraine, district) and Myk ...

, Ukraine *

Kherson Kherson (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and , , ) is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-bui ...

, Ukraine *

Cherkasy Cherkasy (, ) is a city in central Ukraine. Cherkasy serves as the administrative centre of Cherkasy Oblast as well as Cherkasy Raion within the oblast. The city has a population of Cherkasy is the cultural, educational and industrial centre ...

, Ukraine *

Ternopil Ternopil, known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia and Podolia. The populatio ...

, Ukraine *

Ashdod Ashdod (, ; , , or ; Philistine language, Philistine: , romanized: *''ʾašdūd'') is the List of Israeli cities, sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District (Israel), Southern District, it lies on the Mediterranean ...

, Israel * Leninsky District, Minsk, Belarus *

Sokhumi Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the Capital city, capital and largest city of Abkhazia, a partially recognised state that most countries consider a part of Georgia (country), Georgia. The ...

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

Tskhinvali Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალი ) or Tskhinval (, ; , ) is the capital of the disputed ''de facto'' independent Republic of South Ossetia, internationally considered part of Shida Kartli, Georgia (except by Russia and four other UN m ...

South Ossetia South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...

* Santarem, Portugal

Notable people

* Yuri Avvakumov (born 1957), Russian architect, artist, and curator *

Nikolay Zelinsky Nikolay Dmitriyevich Zelinsky (; ; – 31 July 1953) was a Russian and Soviet chemist and educator. He was a professor at Moscow University from 1893 and an academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union (1929). Zelinsky studied at ...

(1861–1953), Russian and Soviet chemist who invented the first filtering

activated charcoal "Activated" is a song by English singer Cher Lloyd. It was released on 22 July 2016 through Vixen Records. The song was made available to stream exclusively on ''Rolling Stone'' a day before to release (on 21 July 2016). Background In an inter ...

gas mask * Georgi Stamatov (1869–1942), Bulgarian writer *

Mikhail Larionov Mikhail Fyodorovich Larionov (; – May 10, 1964) was a Russian avant-garde painter who worked with radical exhibitors and pioneered the first approach to abstract Russian art. He was founding member of two important artistic groups Knave ...

(1881–1964), Russian avant-garde painter * Abraham Rabinovitch (1889–1964), Australian-Russian property developer and pioneer of the Sydney Modern Orthodox Jewish community *

Gheorghe Pintilie Gheorghe Pintilie (born Panteley Timofiy Bodnarenko, ; also rendered as Pintilie Bodnarenco, nicknamed Pantiușa; November 9, 1902 – August 21, 1985) was a Soviet and Romanian intelligence agent and political assassin, who served as first head o ...

(1902–1985), Soviet intelligence agent, Russian citizen and naturalised Romanian communist activist of Ukrainian origin, the first Director of the

Securitate The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...

* Izrail Shmurun (1912–1985), Moldavian Soviet architect * Larisa Eryomina (born 1950), stage and screen actress * Oxana Ionova (born 1966), head of the state tax service of Transnistria, director of Transnistria's central bank from 2008 to 2011; subsequently charged with embezzlement of Russian humanitarian aid, illegal business practices, abuse of power and forgery * Vlad Stashevsky (born 1974), Russian pop singer * Berenika Glixman (born 1984), Israeli classical pianist * Sergey Stepanov (born 1984), musician and composer, member of the

SunStroke Project The SunStroke Project is a Moldovan musical group composed of Sergei Yalovitsky (vocals, composer), Sergey Stepanov (musician), Sergey Stepanov (saxophonist), and previously Anton Ragoza (violinist, composer) until his departure in 2019. They ach ...

* Valeria Lukyanova (born 1985), Ukrainian model, famous for her resemblance to a Barbie doll, lives in Moscow

Politics

* Serhii Kivalov (born 1954), Ukrainian politician, jurist, parliamentarian, head of Central Election Commission * Vladimir Mikhailovich Belyaev (born 1965), the minister of information and telecommunications * Maya Parnas (born 1974), politician and was the former acting Prime Minister of Transnistria * Nina Shtanski (born 1977), former Transnistrian state politician, the Minister of Foreign Affairs 2012 to 2015 * Roman Khudyakov (born 1977), Russian politician, chairman of the

Liberal Democratic Party of Transnistria The Liberal Democratic Party of Transnistria (, , ) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in the breakaway state of Transnistria, recognized as part of Moldova. It was formed on 1 August 2006 by followers of Vladimir Zhirinovsk ...

* Vladimir Yastrebchak (born 1979), the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Transnistria from 2008 to 2012. * Olga Paterova (born in 1984), politician, the press secretary for the political youth organization Breakthrough * Yury Cheban, Transnistrian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecological Control

Sport

* Constantin Nour (1906 or 1907 – 1986), Romanian champion middleweight boxer and national team trainer * Larisa Popova (born 1957), rower who competed for the Soviet Union in the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

* Igor Samoilenco (born 1977), boxer * Andrei Mihailov (born 1980),

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

swimmer, competed in the 2000 and the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

* Andrei Corneencov (born 1982), Moldovan international footballer. * Stanislau Tsivonchyk (born 1985), Belarusian pole vaulter, competed in the pole vault at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

* Vitalie Bulat (born 1987), footballer * Oleksandr Kolchenko (born 1988), Ukrainian basketball player *

Dănilă Artiomov Dănilă Artiomov (born 16 October 1994 in Tiraspol) is a Moldovan swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. Artiomov established a Moldovan record of 1:01.60 to earn a gold medal in the boys' 100 m breaststroke at the 2012 European Junior ...

(born 1994),

breaststroke Breaststroke is a human swimming, swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and ...

swimmer * Artur Dalaloyan (born 1996), Russian

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which assigns the '' Code of Points'' used ...

of Armenian origin

Gallery

File:Tiraspol sign.JPG, Sign at the entrance to Tiraspol File:Monument to Suvorov - panoramio.jpg, Statue of Alexander Suvorov at Suvorov Square File:Tiraspolstreet.jpg, A street in central Tiraspol File:TIraspol Transnistria (11359980726).jpg, The Victory Park File:13.07.2008 - panoramio (2).jpg, The Dnestr river passing through Tiraspol File:Lenin Statue on 25 Oktober Street - Tiraspol - Transnistria (36701973581).jpg, The statue of Lenin in front of the

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

building File:Street Scene - Tiraspol - Transnistria - 01 (36008035783).jpg, Street scene File:Tiraspol, PMR (15144382021).jpg, Railway station File:Tiraspol Casa sindicatelor și depoul pompierilor.jpg, Trade union building and fire station File:War Memorial-Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - Tiraspol - Transnistria (36008034023).jpg, War memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier File:Architectural Detail - Tiraspol - Transnistria - 01 (35982734024).jpg, Part of the city centre File:Tiraspol Suvorov Square.jpg, Photo of the Suvorov Square in Tiraspol File:Tiraspol Suvorov Monument.jpg, Photo of the Suvorov Monument in Tiraspol

Notes

References

External links

Non-Transnistrian links

* *
Tyraspol
(Tiraspol) in the ''

Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland The Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavic Countries () is a monumental Polish gazetteer, published 1880–1902 in Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns ...

'' (1892)

Transnistrian links

Tiraspol.info
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Transnistria Cities and towns in Moldova Municipalities of Moldova Populated places on the Dniester Populated places established in 1792 1792 establishments in Europe Tiraspolsky Uyezd Holocaust locations in Moldova Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic

Etymology

History

Classical and medieval history

Tsarist Russian rule

Soviet Tiraspol

Post-secession

Geography and climate

Demographics

Population

Religion

Culture

Sport

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Notable people

Politics

Sport

Gallery

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

Non-Transnistrian links

Transnistrian links