Names of Transnistria

Names of the breakaway Moldavian republic

Although most commonly known in English as Transnistria, the official name of the region is Pridnestrovie. Here is a detailed explanation of the names used for Transnistria, both official and unofficial, as they appear in the local languages and in English.

In Russian, the names used for Transnistria are always consistently either Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica or Pridnestrovie (the two official names, long and short respectively). However, in English a wide variety of names have been used to describe the region, among them: Trans Dniester, Transdnistria, Transdniestria, Transdniestr, Trans Dniestria, Transdniester, Transniestria, Transdnestr, also Trans Dnjestr and Trans Dnjester. The European Court of Human Rights used the name Moldavian Republic of Transdniestria or Moldovan Republic of Transnistria (MRT), while Organization for Security and Co operation in Europe and others sometimes refer to it as the Transnistrian Moldovan Republic (TMR). Author Charles King, in his book The Moldovans, uses the names Dnestr Republic and Dnestr Moldovan Republic (DMR).

All of the names cited above have their root in the name of the river Dniester. In Romanian/Moldavian, the river is known as Nistru. The name "Transnistria" is Romanian/Moldavian and literally means "beyond the river Dniester". The name has been in use in Romania as early as 1924. In both Russian and Ukrainian, the name has a more literal meaning as it is called "Cisdniestria" which means "On this side of the Dniester", "By the Dniester" or "On the Dniester" (as opposed to beyond the Dniester).