Administrative Legacies and ‘Phantom Borders’ in Transnistria, 1996-2003. The Case of the Rybnitsa Sugar and Alcohol Factory

With the Soviet dissolution, the eastern districts of the newly established Republic of Moldova refused to recognize the Moldovan authorities and proclaimed the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR). In the post-Soviet context, the PMR, or Transnistria as the international public know it, emerged as a de facto state without international recognition. This ‘phantom’ status in international relations entailed the reputation of being ‘a black hole’ in international trade. However, the de facto state managed to develop its own customs authorities, which created an extensive administrative legacy of what was a merely de facto border. The author uses the concept of ‘phantom border’ to contextualize this administrative legacy of the Transnistrian borders. He traces these legacies through the correspondence between the Transnistrian customs authorities and the administration of the Rybnitsa Sugar and Alcohol Factory—a major local enterprise with a long history as an actor in the regional border infrastructure.