NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION, TERRITORIAL SEPARATISM, AND POST-SOVIET GEOPOLITICS IN THE TRANSDNIESTER MOLDOVAN REPUBLIC

A team of U.S. and Russian political geographers assesses the emergenc e of a new kind of quasi-state within the territory of the former USSR -the Transdniester Moldovan Republic (Transniestria, or TMR)-which, al though not officially recognized, has resisted the efforts of the Mold ovan Republic to re-incorporate it and has been successful in part in promoting a new regional identity. The coverage, which is based on fie ld work, interviews, and TMR statistical publications, includes recent information on population dynamics and trends in industrial and agric ultural output. This is followed by examination of the economic, polit ical, and military dimensions of the crisis and consideration of the T MR's significance in an international geopolitical context.