The 100th anniversary of the formation of the first republic on the Dniester

The Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created on the 12th of October, 1924. The first republic on the Dniester and the forerunner of the PMR.

The MASSR included the surrounding villages of Slobodzeya, Tiraspol, Grigoriopol, Dubossary, Rybnitsa, Kamenka, as well as Birzula (Kotovsk, Podolsk at present), Balta, Ananyev and other settlements of the Balta and Odessa districts of the Ukrainian SSR.

The first republic on the Dniester was created by the time, more than 570 thousand people lived here. Moreover, the Moldovans made up less than a third of the population of the MASSR. The majority of the population were Ukrainians and Russians. These territories were part of the Kherson and Podolsk provinces during the Russian Empire. Representatives of different peoples actively moved here since the end of the 18th century (immediately after these lands became part of the Russian Empire). The first capital of the MASSR was the city of Balta, but the capital was moved to Tiraspol after 5 years. The MASSR had its own government bodies, its own budget and legislation. The Constitution was adopted in 1925, less than a year after the formation of the autonomy. It enshrined the norm according to which the most common languages ​​​​in the MASSR were recognized as Moldavian, Ukrainian and Russian. It was the diversity of cultures, traditions and beliefs of the peoples living on the territory of the Moldavian Autonomous SSR that largely determined the modern Pridnestrovian identity, according to historians. The creation of the first republic on the Dniester gave a powerful impetus to the development of the entire region. The Cannery named after Tkachenko in Tiraspol was launched in 1926. The May 1 Cannery, the Mikoyan Cannery, and wineries appeared later, in the early 1930s. Mechanical engineering and metalworking were developed.

A mass collective farm movement had been operating since 1929. Collective farms united 96.5% of peasant farms, the area occupied by orchards and vineyards increased, and the yield of basic crops increased by the end of 1937.

There were 343 industrial enterprises and co-operative craft societies in the MASSR, which employed 14 thousand workers and employees by 1939. The volume of industrial production was 33 times higher than in 1913. The Union republics provided great assistance in the development of the national economy.

The left bank of the Dniester turned into a highly developed agrarian-industrial republic in a short period of time. Such branches of the food industry as canning and winemaking later acquired all-Union significance.

Culture was actively developing. A significant achievement was the elimination of illiteracy. Only 3% of the population of the MASSR were illiterate by 1937. There were more than 500 schools in the republic by that time, in which more than 100 thousand people studied. In the first years of its existence, the MASSR experienced an acute shortage of qualified personnel, so in 1930 the Institute of Public Education was opened in Tiraspol the Pridnestrovian State University named after Taras Shevchenko at present).

It should be noted that the territory of Bessarabia was also part of the MASSR legally. Its western border was determined by the Prut and Danube rivers. However, the territory of Bessarabia was occupied by Romania until 1940. The Romanian authorities pursued a colonial policy in Bessarabia. The difficult economic situation was aggravated by the brutal occupation regime of the military-police dictatorship, which largely contributed to the flight of the population of Bessarabia to the left bank of the Dniester. The first republic on the Dniester existed for 16 years. The Law on the formation of the Union Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted on the 2nd of August, 1940. The MSSR included the city of Tiraspol, Grigoriopol, Dubossary, Kamenka, Rybnitsa, Slobodzeya and Tiraspol districts of the MASSR, as well as the city of Chisinau, Beltsy, Bendery, Cahul, Chisinau, Orhei and Soroca districts of Bessarabia. The remaining districts of the autonomous republic, as well as Akkerman, a significant part of the Izmail and Khotin districts of Bessarabia went to the Ukrainian SSR. However, even half a century of coexistence between Bessarabia and Pridnestrovie has not brought the two banks of the Dniester closer together. The difference in the ethnic structure of the population, worldview, political and cultural orientation turned out to be too great. This difference became especially noticeable in the late 80s, when nationalist ideas flared up in many Soviet republics. They decided to fight for their right to live on their native land and speak their native language in multinational Pridnestrovie. The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, which later became the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, was proclaimed at the II extraordinary congress of deputies of all levels on September 2, 1990. The founders of the PMR took into account the experience of state building in the 1924-1940s. Today, Pridnestrovie preserves historical memory, is proud of the exploits of Russian commanders, and respects the Soviet heritage. It was our past, our history that formed the multinational, multicultural and distinctive Pridnestrovian people after all.