{"id":6021,"date":"2026-05-16T11:36:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T11:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=6021"},"modified":"2026-05-22T13:53:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T13:53:00","slug":"russia-eases-citizenship-rules-for-residents-of-breakaway-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/16\/russia-eases-citizenship-rules-for-residents-of-breakaway-region\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia eases citizenship rules for residents of breakaway region"},"content":{"rendered":"

EU candidate Moldova has mounted political and economic pressure on Russian-speaking Transnistria, prompting Moscow to simplify the migration process<\/strong><\/p>\n

Moscow has made it easier for residents of Transnistria, a de facto self-governing region of Moldova, to obtain Russian citizenship, according to a decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.<\/p>\n

The measure applies to \u201cforeign citizens and stateless persons\u201d<\/em> permanently residing in Transnistria. It aims \u201cto protect human rights and freedoms\u201d<\/em> of the region\u2019s residents in line with \u201cinternational legal norms,\u201d<\/em> the decree states.<\/p>\n

The move comes amid growing political and economic pressure on the predominantly Russian-speaking region from authorities in Chisinau and their Western backers, in what Moldova has described as a policy of \u201creintegration.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

WHAT IS TRANSNISTRIA?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Transnistria is a self-governed breakaway region located along the Dniester River in Moldova, a former Soviet republic located between Ukraine and Romania.<\/p>\n

The region broke away from Moldova after a brief war in the early 1990s and has remained under the protection of a joint Russian-Transnistrian-Moldovan peacekeeping force ever since.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"RT\"
This European country is preparing to give up its future for an \u2018EU dream\u2019<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

WHAT ARE THE ISSUES?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Moldova has charted an increasingly anti-Russian and pro-EU course since President Maia Sandu came to power in 2020. The country applied for EU membership shortly after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, obtained candidate status the same year and formally opened accession talks with Brussels in 2024. <\/p>\n

In October 2025, the Moldovan government adopted a new security strategy identifying Russia as the country\u2019s main threat. Moscow warned at the time that the nation\u2019s leadership was \u201cmaking a grave mistake\u201d<\/em> by increasingly antagonizing the Kremlin.<\/p>\n

LANGUAGE<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Language has become one of the most sensitive issues between Chisinau and Transnistria.
Despite it being widely spoken, Russian lost its status as a \u201clanguage of inter-ethnic communication\u201d<\/em> in 2021, and Romanian became Moldova\u2019s sole official tongue.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"FILE
Russian banned from ex-Soviet state\u2019s parliament<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In Transnistria, however, the official languages are Russian, Ukrainian and \u201cMoldovan\u201d<\/em> \u2013 essentially Romanian written in Cyrillic script \u2013 with Russian dominating public life, education and media.<\/p>\n

Tensions have grown as Moldova\u2019s pro-EU leadership has increasingly promoted Romanian-language integration. Among the latest measures are new restrictions on the use of Russian in Moldova\u2019s parliament, which were introduced earlier this month, under which bills will no longer be routinely translated into the language.<\/p>\n

ENERGY SECURITY<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Ukraine conflict has severely undermined Transnistria\u2019s energy security. For decades, the region relied on free or heavily subsidized Russian gas delivered through Ukraine, which powered the Soviet-era Cuciurgan power station supplying electricity to much of Moldova, including the breakaway region. The arrangement had long formed the backbone of the enclave\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

But the system collapsed in early 2025 after Kiev refused to extend a transit agreement allowing Russian gas deliveries through Ukraine. The disruption triggered the worst energy crisis in Transnistria since the 1990s.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"Russian
Moscow responds to \u2018short-sighted\u2019 Moldovan decision to exit Russian-led bloc<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Authorities were forced to cut heating and hot water to households and introduce rolling electricity blackouts during winter, while industrial production declined sharply as factories shut down and exports plunged. Authorities declared a prolonged economic emergency that remains in force.
<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

TAXATION<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite the ongoing crisis, Moldovan authorities have moved to increase pressure on Transnistrian businesses by introducing new taxes and gradually phasing out long-standing exemptions.<\/p>\n

Under the measures, enterprises registered in Transnistria will increasingly be required to pay taxes and customs duties to Moldova\u2019s state budget rather than solely local authorities. Transnistrian officials have condemned the policy as \u201cdouble taxation\u201d<\/em> that could deepen the region\u2019s economic crisis and trigger further businesses closures.<\/p>\n

\n
\n READ MORE: <\/span>Ex-Soviet nation following EU playbook on Russia \u2013 ambassador
\n <\/a>\n <\/p>\n

PRESSURE ON RUSSIAN PEACEKEEPERS<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Moldovan leadership and the EU have repeatedly called for the withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping troops despite strong public support for the mission inside Transnistria. A poll conducted in the region in April suggested that 82.5% of residents support the continued presence of Moscow\u2019s peacekeepers.<\/p>\n

Authorities in Transnistria\u2019s capital Tiraspol have rejected the possibility of troop withdrawal, arguing that the Russian military presence is \u201cabsolutely legal and legitimate\u201d<\/em> and remains a key part of the existing peacekeeping mechanism that has preserved stability for more than three decades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EU candidate Moldova has mounted political and economic pressure on Russian-speaking Transnistria, prompting Moscow to simplify the migration process Moscow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6021"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6021"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6025,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6021\/revisions\/6025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}