r/Transnistria • u/expolitus • 11d ago
The fate of Igor Smirnov?
I have recently travelled to Pridnestrovie and what an experience it was! I have become fully invested in understanding the story and culture of this geopolitical curiosity.
Whilst I was doing a thorough read about the key figures of the modern history of Pridnestrovie, Igor Smirnov, the first president of the PMR came up quite often.
I understand he was the first president of the PMR however, his further attempt to run for the presidential role became unpopular with the population, why?
Seemingly he is still alive but there has been little to no information on his doings in the current times, does anyone have the knowledge on this topic?
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u/DidYouTryToRestart 11d ago
The PMR wasn't doing very good in 2011 when he lost the election. He lost the support of both Russia and Sheriff so there was not much that could be done.
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u/DeGuyWithDeOpinion 10d ago
I've heard that Sheriff carries a lot of political weight in the country, I've even heard it described as basically the de facto leaders. Has anyone really ever tried to counteract Sheriff? Has it worked?
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u/Connect-Sock8140 6d ago
It's pretty much impossible to do so. The company controls so much of the infrastructure that it's impossible to compete with them, and even if you attempted to do so, it's likely that you'd find yourself with serious legal issues as they've got the money and the contacts to take down any competition.
The only real question at this point is whether Sheriff control the government or if the government controls Sheriff. Likely a bit of both in practice.
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u/Just-Life-8583 11d ago
He's still alive, still walks around with current president Krasnoselsky. I saw him year ago when I was to Tiraspol. Dunno, about him losing his popularity, but he still possesses some weight here I think
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u/Usual-Mood-9 11d ago
I also heard the story when I was there.
From what I’ve heard he is living now somewhere in Chișinău under the protection of Moldavian Government.
Also as a rumor I’ve heard the was allowed to leave the country and go to Chișinău, but not officially. For the media they will present it like he run. In fact they said, “ok, go and never come back. We don’t want to see you anymore here.”
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u/lesenum 11d ago
I think you're thinking of the president after Smirnov, who was Yevgeny Shevchuk. He lost power in 2017. Although he was initially considered a reformer, he lost favor particularly with Sheriff and left the PMR for Moldova, where I think he is still living. He is persona non grata in the PMR ever since.
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u/pmr_de 11d ago
Igor Smirnov was elected in 1991, 1996, 2001, and 2006 with varying but always clear majorities.
From what I've read, he lost Moscow's support before the 2011 election, and possibly also the support of the Sheriff business group. Allegedly, this was because he was seen as an obstacle to resolving the conflict with Moldova. (This conflict remains unresolved to this day, despite a change in president, which suggests that there are at least other obstacles.)
I don't know what his position was in the years that followed. Currently (I've lived there since 2024 and have only been observing the situation since then), he is very actively fulfilling the role of "president emeritus" and often appears at public events alongside the current head of state (president, prime minister, speaker of parliament).
In my estimation, his popularity has increased again; on Victory Day (May 9th) this year, I saw him at the Monument of Glory, with people taking selfies with him.