Even criminals fought for the Russians in Transnistria. They got drunk, murdered and raped
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Marian Visternicean, an art carver and former sniper in the civil war in Transnistria, was born on 2 June 1966 in the then Socialist Republic of Moldova, which was part of the Soviet Union. He describes his childhood as tough; children had to work with their mother Yevgenia in the kolkhoz [cooperative farm in the USSR, trans.] in the tobacco and corn fields, and they also helped in the vineyards. In winter the whole family wove carpets. He has liked liked arts and crafts since his childhood, so at the age of 15 he went to study at an art vocational school in the Moldovan capital Chisinau. After finishing his apprenticeship in 1984, he completed his basic military service in Odesa, Ukraine. In 1987, during Gorbachev’s perestroika, he witnessed nationalist demonstrations in Riga, Latvia, where he wanted to study at an art college. Eventually, due to the riots in Riga, he changed his mind about his studies and taught at a vocational school in Belarus. In 1991, the Soviet Union began to disintegrate. Moldova declared full independence and the Republic of Moldova was established. Moldova’s Transnistria also declared full independence in 1991. Moldova did not recognise Transnistria’s unilateral secession and continued to consider it part of its territory. On 1 March 1992, the Moldovan offensive against Transnistria began. Many Romanian volunteers fought on the Moldovan side, while Transnistria received support from Russian and partly Ukrainian volunteers, Don Cossacks and also released criminals. Marian Visternicean was recruited by the Moldovan army, and he became a sniper. Many of his friends lost their lives, and he is still haunted by their mutilated bodies. The civil war claimed around 1,000 victims, including civilians. Mass graves have been discovered near Tiraspol, Transnistria, where the bodies of students from Tiraspol University, including girls who had been raped, have been found. The war in Transnistria ended on 25 July 1992 with a ceasefire and Marian Visternicean became part of the peacekeeping forces. After the war, the Republic of Moldova experienced economic decline. Marian Visternicean therefore decided to leave for the Federal Republic of Germany, but because of his record of participation in the war in Transnistria, the Germans labeled him being an undesirable person. In 1995, he eventually left for the Czech Republic via Ukraine and Slovakia. He settled in Mníšek near Liberec, where he now has an art workshop and produces replicas of historical furniture and wood sculptures.
