Tiraspol
Тирaсполь
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
March 26, 2004
We left Moldovan-controlled lands by crossing the (locally) famous bridge into Tiraspol.
Here we had no problems and quickly found our restaurant in downtown Tiraspol for
lunch.
Next, we went sightseeing, starting with the tank and memorials to those who died
during the war. The tank said "to the motherland." Nearby was the tomb
of the Unknown Soldier in front of the eternal flame. On each side of the tomb were
the tombs of soldiers who died in the ‘92 war. As we continued up the hill there
were plaques dedicated to those from Transnistria who had died in other conflicts/wars
like WWII, etc. At the top of the hill were bronze soldiers, each a different height
representing a different war; to our right, across the street stands the Supreme
Soviet and beside it a huge statue of Syvorov, a Russian general who originally
captured Transnistrian lands for the Russians in the late 1700’s.
We stopped at a bookstore where Alan bought a book about the history of Transnistria
in pictures and actually found himself in the book. Next, we went to the Kvint factory
and our locals used all of their leftover Transnistrian money to buy cognac, as
did many of the US diplomats.