Arhiva etichetelor: USSR
Chişinău (Moldova)
Chişinău (also known as Kishinev, Russian: Кишинёв Kishinyov), is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc.
For more details click on the map
Economically, the city is the most prosperous in Moldova and is one of the main transportation hubs of the region.
As the most important municipality in Moldova, Chişinău has a broad range of educational facilities.
The proportion of green spaces in the city is one of the highest among major European cities.
According to one version, the name comes from the archaic Romanian word chişla (meaning „spring”, „source of water”) and nouă („new”), because it was built around a small spring. Nowadays, the spring is located at the corner of Pushkin and Albişoara streets.
There is another city named Chişineu (alternative spelling: Chişinău) in Western Romania, near the border with Hungary, but its relation to Chişinău is disputed.
Its Hungarian name is Kisjenő (kis „small” + the eponym „Jenő”), from which the Romanian name originates.
Chişinău is also known in Russian as Кишинёв (Kishinyov). It is written Kişinöv in the Latin Gagauz alphabet. It was also written as Кишинэу in the Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet in Soviet times. Historically, the English language name for the city, „Kishinev,” was based on the modified Russian one because it entered the English language via Russian at the time Chişinău was part of the Russian Empire.
Moldova and is administratively subdivided into 32 districts, 2 autonomous units, and 3 municipalities. Chişinău is one of the municipalities.
Besides the city itself, the municipality comprises 34 other suburban localities, and is subdivided into sectors, each comprising a part of the city itself and several suburbs. The municipality in its totality elects a mayor and a local council, which then name 5 pretors, one for each sector.
The five sectors of Chişinău are:
Source: Wikipedia
Near the Arch of Triumph, in the center
Ministry of Agriculture
The presidential palace (old building, now is in reconstruction after incidents from April 2009)
An old soviet Lada car at the Moldavian Police
A panel with the message "Chisinau - noi suntem viitorul tau! (We are the future of the Chisinau)" put by the mayor of the city, Dorin Chirtoaca
The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova
The statue of Stephen III of Moldavia or Stephen III (c. 1432 - July 2, 1504), also known as Stephen the Great
Theoretical High School (Lyceum) Gheorghe Asachi (The best from Moldova)
St. Pantelimon Church, 1891
Jumbo shopping centre
A poster of the Communist Party of Moldova
Some prices at webcams (1500 moldavian lei mean almost 400 romanian lei or 95 euro)
🙂
:))
The Chisinau Cathedral (19th century Nativity Cathedral of Moldovan Orthodox Church, under Church of Russia)
The Chisinau Cathedral
Cathedral’s belfry, restored in 1996
Car plate
Free International University of Moldova (ULIM)
SKYTOWER Business Centre
Popasul Dacilor restaurant "The stoppage of Dacians"
Original wooden style
The walls are decorated with natural animal skin
The best "barbarian" choice to eat...
Cricova (Moldova)
Cricova is the famous Moldovan winery, located in the city with the same name located at 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of Chişinău. Famous wine cellars make it a popular attraction for tourists.
The wine cellars of Cricova is second largest wine cellar in Moldova, after Milestii Mici (largest in the world). It boasts a mere 120 kilometres (75 mi) of labyrinthine roadways, versus MM’s 200 kilometres (120 mi), tunnels have existed under Cricova since the XVth century, when limestone was dug out to help build Chisinau. They were converted into an underground wine emporium in the 1950s.
The territory used to be a mine for limestone, a building material. In some branches excavation is still active, so the cellar is still growing. Other famous wineries in Moldova include Cojuşna and Mileştii Mici.
Source: Wikipedia
Travel Journal
„We decided a long time ago to visit Cricova. It seemed to be a nice destination for the end of this spring.
So the big day came. At nine o’clock in the morning we all were ready to start our trip, so we got up in the bus and took our seats. We must say the price of a trip to Cricova, for a group of 20 persons costs 135 lei (~9 euros). How Cricova is situated only at 11 Km from Chisinau, in over 20 minutes we were there. It was a good idea to start our trip in the morning, because the day was very hot, so we could “get fried” in the minibus! =D
Arriving there, the guide told us a sad little rumor: the electric train that should carry us through the tunnels of Cricova was broken, so we should take the bus, because the distance was pretty big: over 60 km to see!
The gates opened, so the trip began. We saw in front of our eyes a big, wide road, which was dishing too fast. The first impression was that we hit in a little scary story, but this feeling passed quickly.
From the beginning we felt the difference concerning the air: in the tunnels, the temperature never rises up 12-14 C, while the humidity also stays constants-97 %. We can give you an important advice: if you want to visit Cricova, in no matter what season, you have to take some warm clothes, if not; you’ll get a bit frozen ;).
While we were advancing in the subways of Cricova, the guide told us that we are at 40-50 meters under ground. You should know that at the beginning, this place was a mine from where was taking out white rock, used to build edifices in Chisinau-from here it comes the name of “white city”. Totally, the roads of Cricova have a length of 120 Km, but only 60 are intended for wines, other 60 km serve as a mine; in present from there they are extracting white rock.
The roads become streets and boulevards, as they have names: Ariadne’s thread Street, Cabernet Street, Dionysus Street, Champaign’s Boulevard, names chosen by the type of wine placed on that “street”.
Our first stop was on the Cabernet Street. We saw a lot of barrels, smalls (232 litters) and big (453 litters), plenty of this kind of wine. The casks were made of oak wood, so the taste of wine can change if it rests for a long time put in there.
At the second stop, we stepped on the Champaign’s Boulevard, where the guide led us into a chamber where were kept the future Champaign. Here we found out how does this drink is made. The all period while the wine changes into Champaign, ready to be sold, takes 5 years.
The third hall we saw was in that are kept the personal collection of different persons, but also the most important bottles of wine from there. At the beginning of the chamber, we noticed a memorial made for the persons who founded Cricova and the statue of Dionysus.
We saw the Hermann Göring wine’s collection, (Mosel from 1935) brought here by the Bolsheviks after World War II. In the same area, we caught sight on old French wines (1936) and other collections of states from USSR. The personal wine collection of Vladimir Putin is kept at Cricova, the rental of a bottle costs 1$/year.Altogether, the whole cellar comprises over 1.3 million bottles.
After visiting this extraordinary place, we left it for another site: the formal halls from Cricova, avaible only for the officials. We hadn’t the permission to touch the table that has about 60 seats, because we could leave stamps, ha-ha! We saw also the favourite chamber of the ex- president of Moldova, Vladimir Voronin, who comes there to “take a break”.
After a one and half hour our trip finished and we had the vague sensation that we have lost something there. Maybe that was because we rested a bit amazed, but pleased for everything we saw. We didn’t want to leave that place, but we had to.
We advise everyone to visit Cricova, with any occasion, because there you have the possibility to pass a little part of your life in a “forgiven” place, where the Time does nothing more than to dust the bottles and to raise the quality and the price of a good wine.”
An imitation of a stronghold on the territory of Cricova.
First view of the road which leads us to the Cricova's cellar.
A cellar located on Cabernet Street, where is kept the Pinot wine.
In these barrels is kept the Cabernet wine, the white dust on the floor testifies the fact that in the past, this place was a mine of withe rock.
A common barrel in the subways of Cricova,made of American oak. The wine changes its taste if it's kept in this kind of cask.
A 453 litters barrel for keeping the Cabernet wine.
The same barrel, with a wine inquest on it (Cabernet-Sauvignon, made in 2007).
A shower that attentions the pedestrian crossing.
The name of the chamber where the Campaign is kept.
A schedule which explains the process of Remuage-process used for preparing the Champagne.The improvement of this drink till it can be sold is based on changing the angle of the bottle, for all the uncleanliness set in the cork. After that,the cork is frozen, so the uncleanliness can be taken without damaging the Champagne. The whole procedure takes 5 years.
The "first" Champagne containing uncleanliness, before passing through "Remuage" process.
The cellar where the Champagne is kept, place located on Champagne's Boulevard.
A view through the subways of Cricova.
Old wine from 1995.
The Hermann Goring wine's collection, Mosel from 1935. Another part of collection is conserved in Ukraine,Crimea.
Mouldiness and bacterium developed on a wine bottle. As we said, the humidity in the cellars of Cricova is over 97 %.
The cellar where is kept the wine collections.
The personal wine collection of Vladimir Putin.
A closer view on the slate information.
The oldest bottle of Wine from Cricova, taken from Israel, in 1902.
A Romanian "Grasa de Cotnari" wine bottle, from 1979.
An old French wine from 1936. In 2008, a bottle of this kind was sold for 60.000 euros, for a personal collection.
The guide told us that this small table with small chairs is an imitation of an old Moldavian custom "La botul calului"("At the muzzle's horse").We don't know if we should believe her or not.Anyway, the cart didn't go in the photo 🙂 .
A small official chamber from Cricova.
A picture of "Moldavian wedding" painted on a wall.
Another official place.
The official chamber from Cricova,with the "untouchable" table. Around it,there are 60 chairs.
The favourite relaxing chamber from Cricova of the ex-president of Moldova, Vladimir Voronin.
A modern WC, including a small chamber for the smokers.
Chernivtsi (Ukraine)
Chernivtsi (Romanian: Cernăuţi; Ukrainian: Чернівці) is the administrative center of Chernivtsi Oblast (province) in western Ukraine.
Chernivtsi on map
The city lies in the historic Northern Bukovina region and is situated on the Prut river, a tributary of the Danube.
As of the 2001 Ukrainian Census, the city’s population is 240,600.According to the latest All-Ukrainian population census in 2001, the population of Chernivtsi was approximately 236,700 people of 65 nationalities.
Among them, 189,000 (79.8%) are Ukrainians, 26,700 (11.3%) Russians, 10,500 (4.4%) Romanians; 3,800 (1.6%) Moldavians, 1,400 (0.6%) Polish; 1,300 (0.6%) Jews; 2,900 (1.2%) other nationalities.
Based on the last available Soviet data, the population of the city, as of January 1, 1989, was approximately 295,000 residents.
Among these, there are some 172,000 Ukrainians, 46,000 Russians, 16,000 Romanians, 13,000 Moldavians, 7,000 Poles and others. Historically, the city was very multinational. From 1870 to the Second World War, Jews were the biggest population group of Czernowitz.
In 1930, according to the Romanian census, the population of the city was 26.8% Jewish, 23.2% Romanians, 20.8% Germans, 18.6% Ukrainians, and 1.5% Russians.he Romanian population in Chernivtsi started decreasing rapidly after 1950.
Many Romanians fled to Romania or were deported to Siberia (where most of them died), and the remaining Romanian population quickly became a minority and assimilated with the majority.
Nowadays, the Romanian minority in Chernivtsi is still decreasing as a result of cultural assimilation and emigration to Romania.
Source: Wikipedia
Travel Journal
What would be if I will go to Chernivtsi, in Ukraine ?
We took the train from Bucharest to Suceava.
After we arrive in the railway station from Suceava-Burdujeni, we were surprised to admire the railway station that was build in 1869.
After we put our legs in the railway station, an old gypsy man came to us and start to say that Suceava is a dangerous city, and we must have attention because of that and other rubbish (gypsy baloney).
After that, he see that we don’t give him money or something, and he start to say that he needs some money to go at his home, with train.
Can you belive that?
In 2009, someone in European Union could have such momments !
You remember an episode of South Park, called “Night of the Living Homeless“ ? 😛
“Change..Change…you have any change” :)))
After that we escape from the living gypsy, we take the local bus and we go to the centre of the city.A single ticket is 1.5 RON (New Romanian Leu)…almost 0.35 euro-cents.
From the center, we decided to go to the History Museum, to see the throne room of Stephen the Great, the ruler of Moldavian Kingdom between 1457 and 1504.
We take the taxi and we go to the History Museum. The price of taxi in Suceava is 1.80 RON (almost 0.5 Euro).
The museum is good, it has special rooms for all parts of history…start with prehistoric times and ends with WW2.
They also have a good collection of coins, especially medieval moldavian coins from monasteries.
Suceava is not a big city, and we go to the stronghold of the city, which was the capital of Moldavian Kingdom in the time of Stephen the Great.
Up to the hill were the fortress is built, the landscape is amazing, you can see almost all Suceava, and the road from the Mc Donald’s to the stronghold is through forest, simple amazing !
After this walking, we go to the bus station in Suceava and we took the bus for Chernivtsi (2.00 PM). The distance is about 82 km, through the border point Siret in Romania and Porubne in Ukraine.
Before we arrive to the border, we completed an Immigration Card, where we wrote our departure with destination (a hotel), name with surname, citizenship, passport number and our signature.
We didn’t pay anything, we just give the document to the Ukrainian border police and they give us to keep half from the paper. With that half paper you can leave Ukraine, and you must keep it at you.
Before we arrived in Chernivtsi, we pass through Hlyboka (in Romanian is Adâncata), a small Romanian town in Northern Bukovina. The population of Hlyboka District is majority Romanian (51.4 %).
In June 1940, Soviet Union take Northern Bukovina which was eliberated by Romanian Army in 1941.
Romania was forced to give the northern part of Bukovina to the USSR by the 1947 Paris peace treaty. The territory became part of the Ukrainian SSR as Chernivtsi Oblast (province). After the war the Soviet government deported or killed about 41,000 Romanians.
After one and a half hour we arrive to Chernivtsi.
We go to search a bank to buy some UAH with Euro.
The currency was 1 Euro=10 UAH (Ukrainian hryvnia).
With Ukrainian currency, we go to eat and to drink something. We eat at a fasto-food some hamburgers, we drink Kvass (Kbac) and we eat Ukrainian icecream, which is cheaper and good.
With 10 UAH (1 Euro) I eat one big hamburger, one glass of Kvass and one icecream 😀
Can you belive that? 😛
After that, we go for a walk in a park, not so far from the center. We drink some Ukrainian beers and we decided to come back to Romania.
We go to the Central Bus Station (Avtovogzal) and we find a Romanian from Chernivtsi to take us to Suceava. We want to give him some money but he refuse to accept something from us.
We arrive in Suceava at 21.40 and we go to eat and drink,
After that, we go to the railway station to catch the train for Bucharest at 23.04 PM.
The center of Suceava
Suceava-Burdujeni railway station
Map of Bukovina
Throne room of Stephen III of Moldavia also known as Stephen the Great (History Museum from Suceava)
Solar symbol on a traditional gate near the fortress of Suceava
A great view from the fortress above Suceava
Walls of the fortress
On the road from the fortress to the city (through forest)
In the bus to Chernivtsi (old soviet bus)
Timetable in Central Bus Station from Chernivtsi
Central Bus Station from Chernivtsi (Avtovokzal in ukrainian, Avtovogzal in russian)
Old soviet bus station
Post box
Local trolleybus from Chernivtsi
On the road to the centre
Law and Order (Ukrainian Police)
Some nice blocks
Plate number from Chernivtsi
A message to recruting people for sport (Ivan Geshko) Sport-Health-Future
Public phone
On this guide panel you can see the name Suceava
Marshrutnoye taksi or маршрутка (Marshrutka)
Kvass (квас) and ukrainian icecream
We saw this ukrainian girl just after we buy some humbergers, she was staying in the front of us
A central street in Chernivtsi
Shevchenko Park
Shevchenko Park - A park for Culture and Rest
They are still alive !
Raiffeisen Bank Aval
The soviet bus which take us from Suceava to Cernivitsi
Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH)
A very strong ukrainian beer called Desant (Desant Spetsnaz) 7.2%
Tiraspol (Transnistria)
Tiraspol (Romanian: Tiraspol; Russian: Тирасполь and Ukrainian: Тирасполь) is the second largest city in Moldova and is the capital and administrative centre of the de facto independent Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic – Transnistria „PMR”).
The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River.
Click on the map
Tiraspol is a regional hub of light industry, such as furniture and electrical goods production.
The toponym consists of two words: Tiras — the ancient Greek name for the Dniester River, and polis – city.
In 1989 the city had a population of about 190,000 and in 1992 203,000. 41% were Russians, 32% Ukrainians and 18% were Moldovans (Romanians).
Sister cities:
2004 Census in Transnistria:
Total population (including Bender): 555,347 (percentages below refer to this first figure)
Total population (minus Bender): 450,337
- Moldovans (Romanians): 31.9%
- Russians: 30.3%
- Ukrainians: 28.8%
- Bulgarians: 2%
- Poles: 2%
- Gagauz: 1.5%
- Jews: 1.3%
- Belarusians: 1%
- Germans: 0.6%
- Others: 0.5%
Transnistria, also known as Trans-Dniester, Transdniestria, and Pridnestrovie is a disputed region in southeast Europe.
Since its declaration of independence in 1990, followed by the War of Transnistria in 1992, it is governed by the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), which claims the left bank of the river Dniester and the city of Bendery (Tighina) within the former Moldavian SSR.
The modern Republic of Moldova does not recognize the secession and considers PMR-controlled territories to be a part of Moldova’s sovereign territory.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Travel jurnal
„… Many people know about Tiraspol, but few of them had the chance to go there. We were lucky to pass a day on the left side of river Dniester.
From the beginning of the day, we took the bus from the Central station, not before to buy the tickets from a separated ticket office.
It costs 32 lei/person (~3$). After an hour, we arrived at the customs, where we were asked to leave the bus.
A nice woman, who takes care that every passenger passes the frontier, led us to the counter from where we could take an inquest to complete it an official procedure that allow you to pass in Transnistria.
We paid 22 lei/person after we stayed in a big crowd, whereupon the frontier guard gave us a part of the inquest without whom we don’t have the permission to leave Transnistria.
Before that, the persons who aren’t citizens of Republic of Moldova have to register to another wicket, it’s enough to show the passport. We returned at our bus and continued the road till the station of Tiraspol.
The driver stopped in Tighina for few minutes, before we passed through the bridge who rememberd me about the conflict of Transnistria form 1992.At the beginning of the bridge we saw a Russian tanc-a way for showing the power of those who were fighting for “liberty”.
In less than 15 minutes we arrived in Tiraspol, a city which seemed to be lost by civilization, people and modernization. The bus stopped at the railway station (also for buses) and the first thing we did was to ask for the left bus that goes to Chisinau.
Unfortunately, the reaction of the seller from the ticket office wasn’t so kind. I had to ask for three times that I get an uncertain answer. I noticed that on the wall of their booth was suspended the portrait of Smirnov-the transnistrian leader.
We changed money at an exchange and for 100 lei we received 70 transnistrian roubles. While we were looking around, we paid attention at a strange smell that came from the railway station. It was a stench emanated from the train which came from Russia and had a setback at the railway station from Tiraspol.
A lot of people who got out from the train had big teddy bears in their hands-maybe at Moscow they cost cheaper than in Transnistria, who knows?! 🙂
Averting from that stinking place, we decided to see the other part of the city, which had the same traits: old soviet buildings on which were put communist signs, bad roads, silent people-things that make you feel in another country, in another period, as in USSR.
We tried to find supermarket “Sheriff”, but, without luck, we asked the citizens (in Russian, of course!) to tell us where it is.
It’s interesting to know that in Tiraspol “Sheriff” is a common name for a stadium, for a football team, a supermarket, a sort of vodka (and so on), what can that mean?! Well, “Sheriff” is a quite big market, where you can find Russian and Ukrainian products, some of them cheaper than on the other side of river Dniester.
With 70 transnistrian roubles, we bought more than we could buy in Chisinau, with the same money.
It was already murk and we had to turn back to the station, to take the bus.
How we couldn’t receive an amenable answer from the ticket sellers, to know when the bus will come, we waited outside, in cold. We profited for that moment and we ate a bit of salad (bought from “Sheriff”) because we were very hungry.
We cut in with a girl who was waiting, as us the bus. At the beginning we spoke in Russian, but after we found out she knows Romanian, we changed the language. She was born in Tiraspol, but she is studying in Chisinau.
We forgot her name, but we remember she was talkative and positive. After waiting for an hour to appear a bus to take us from there, finally, a white Mercedes minibus, with a drunk driver, came for us.
We gave him 36 lei/person, (the price for a ticket) and we were happy to know that in an hour we will be at home.
We could warm up in that minibus, although near us was sitting a drunken man who believed we were going to Balti. He was stopped at the customs and obligated to pay a mulct. It was funny, because his family didn’t stop to argue him, while he was “high”. At the customs house, we showed that part of inquest which we completed when we entered in Transnistria.
They let us go. In more than one hour we were back in Chisinau. That sensation of old soviet atmosphere continued to rout us, even if we were pretty far from that place. Transnistria seems to be a forgotten place, where the people who live there have a strange way of acting, a strange behavior-always shy, always silent, with the eyes aimed on you.”
At the border between Moldova and Transnistria. You can observe "PMR" name.
Big agglomeration at the wicket from where you must register yourself to come in Transnistria.
Here you are at the border and these blocks are from Tighina (Bendery in russian). Bendery is controlled by PMR.
This is a Transnistrian WC from the border. (Transnistrian reek)
Some blocks in Tiraspol
Other blocks
The same soviet style
A Sheriff supermarket. Sheriff (in Cyrillic: Шериф) is the second-largest company based in Transnistria.
Food and coffee shops
Old sovietic blocks
The railway station from Tiraspol (Bus station is in the same location).
A panel of arrivals and departures from the bus station
The map of Transnistria with all roads.
Transnistrian roubles
Our ticket from Sheriff Supermarket
The bus ticket for Chişinău-Tiraspol route (31.90 Moldavian Lei-2 Euro)
The necessary inquest for passing in Transnistria. You must pay 22 Moldavian Lei for this.
After that,transnistrian policeman will register you. Half from the paper you must keep it with you because you cant leave Transnistria without that paper.
Transnistrian auto plate with Tiraspol.
Other blocks in sovietic style
At Sheriff supermarkets they have a 7% discount for old people.
Sheriff supermarket outside.
