Transnistria holds back the development of the country
Moldova is a small Eastern European state located between Romania and Ukraine. It is landlocked and has no access to the sea. It is one of the former republics of the USSR, which became independent on 27 August 1991. Transnistria (sometimes called Transdniestria) is a region of Moldova that lies east of the Dniester River on the Ukrainian border. The leaders of this small region have been seceding from Moldova since the early 1990s. The majority of its inhabitants are Russian or Ukrainian speaking, while the rest of Moldova is predominantly Romanian.