Transnistria (Pridnestrovskaya Moldavskaya Respublika, or PMR) is an unrecognized breakaway region in eastern Moldova that’s nestled between the Dnister River and the Ukrainian border. Known as the country that doesn’t exist, it declared independence from the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic (MSSR) in September 1990 as the Soviet Union was nearing its last days.

Moldova was part of the Bessarabian province in Nazi-aligned Romania until 1940 when the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact placed Moldova – whose territory at the time ended at the Dnister – under Soviet rule. The following year, Romania, still part of the Axis powers, reclaimed Bessarabia and territory extending all the way to Odessa, Ukraine, where Sinti, Roma, and Romanian Jews were deported and executed during the Holocaust. The MSSR was reinstituted after the war, but this time the Soviets included the small strip of land east of the Dnister as part of Moldova.

When the MSSR seceded in August of the following year, it declared independence and claimed that the deals made between the Nazis and Soviets were invalid. Transnistria came forward with the same argument, but Moldova opposed it. A concern expressed by the PMR was that the Russian speakers and Soviet sympathizers would be oppressed, especially as concerns rose over reunification with Romania. A hot war ensued for several months in 1992, mostly taking place in Bender (Bendery), the border-checkpoint town that sits on the Moldovan side of the river.

The brief sanguinary conflict ended with the Russian Federation brokering a ceasefire agreement between the two parties. As part of the deal, Transnistria agreed to act as its own autonomous country with its own border checkpoint, currency, and judicial system, but, begrudgingly, still be recognized as Moldovan territory.

Today, visiting the PMR is like time traveling back to the Soviet Union except there are new cars on the road. A statue of Vladimir Lenin sits in front of the Parliament building and there is an area dedicated to various prominent Soviet military leaders and politicians. A law degree from Transdniestrian State University is also valid in Russia. The official language is Russian. The local currency is the Transnistrian ruble and the coins were plastic and resembled poker chips until a few years ago. You can find them if you go but you need to find a bank that carries them.

There are approximately 1,500 Russian troops that serve as peacekeepers and the country essentially functions as a Russian satellite state as its almost entirely propped up by the Kremlin. It’s still a fascinatingly odd place and worth the extra trip if you happen to visit Moldova. Everything can be seen in a day trip from Chisinau but accommodation is cheap and recommended if you want the full Transnistrian experience.