A Respublika roadblock outside Tiraspol

The silence before the storm…

1990, Moldavia. The movement for independence from the Soviet Union is strong, and have managed to claim autonomy for Moldavia.

1991. The Soviet Union collapses. Moldavia becomes an independent country. Strong anti-moldavian sentiment in the eastern province of Transnistria.

1992. Civil war breaks out as the Transnistrian independence movement, spearheaded by the Respublika Party, proclaim Transnistria a soverign state. The Moldavian army is called in and fighting erupts, especially in and around the new capital of Transnistria, Tiraspol. The civil war comes to an abrupt end a few weeks later, as the Russian 14th Army unilaterally steps in to end the conflict. In the aftermath, Respublika is able to seize power. However, no other country recognizes Transnistria as a sovereign state.

2011. Nineteen years have passed since Transnistria became the independent Prednestrovian Moldavian Republic (the PMR). The population of Transnistria is now almost evenly split between the leftwing, pro-independence Respublika Party, and the right wing Obnovleniye party, working for a reunification with Moldavia. The elections of 2011 was a farce, with both sides commiting rather obvious election frauds, and violence broke out between the two parties and their supporters. It was fast becoming another civil war.

It was at this stage that the Transnistrian Army declared a state of national emergency, and disbanded the parliament and presidency. To many foreign observers, it was the classic military coup to seize power, but the Transnistrian Army generals surprised everyone when they called in the UN to supervise. A request was made for a UN peacekeeping initiative, and the UN agreed.

The peacekeeping mandate was agreed upon, and Transnistria was split in three sectors: The northernmost sector being a multinational UN peacekeeping zone, the middle of the country delegated to NATO forces, and the southernmost part under Russian peacekeeping mandate. New elections will be held in the spring, if the situation in Transnistria calms down.

For weeks now, the expected violent clash between Respublika and Obnovleniye forces have not flared up, and there is a small hope in the population that the peacekeeping initiative will stave off the civil war, and that elections will be held and the situation normalized, come spring. Not everyone is as enthusiastic, though. The silence from the militants may not be a peace forthcoming, but a preparation for war…

The game

This game is fiction. It borrows heavily from real life, though: Transnistria exists and it is a troublespot. We have, however, modified the reality a bit to fit our needs, but we chose to keep it close to the truth, since Transnistria is such a fascinating place. The game takes place a few years into the future (in 2011), but nothing much has changed in those few years as to make it science fiction.

So, why did we choose Transnistria of all places? Well, for a couple of reasons. It’s a real place, with lots of material to be inspired by. It’s also a place right on the border between the influence spheres of NATO and Russia, and it’s basically a political conflict (with ethnic undertones, however), where all-too-common clichés like Mujahedin fanatics or PMCs won’t fit in.

The game, for the “rebel” factions, will focus heavily on outwitting eachother, planning and executing guerilla warfare and tactics, and not get the attention of the peacekeeping forces. For the peacekeepers, much of the game will focus on, well, peacekeeping and peacemaking efforts. It’s a down-to-earth, grunt kind of game, more than a lock-and-load gung-ho game.