Shevchuk’s resignation shows Tiraspol administration is not a monolith anymore, expert

The resignation of the speaker of the Transnistrian legislature Evgheni Shevchuk is not a spontaneous event, but an element of the political struggle that started in Transnistria in 2005, when the local elections were won by Shevchuk’s party “Obnovlenie” (“Renewal”). This shows that the administration in Tiraspol is no more a monolith as it was presented by the foreign press, considers analyst Radu Vrabie, program coordinator at the Foreign Policy Association. He stated for Info-Prim Neo that Evgheni Shevchuk’s departure represents the beginning of a new active phase of the political battle. “For the first time, a Transnistrian ‘official’ admitted openly that the region witnesses thievery, nepotism and favoritism and is not a viable ‘state’ as it lives only on foreign money,” the analyst said. Radu Vrabie considers that Shevchuk’s resignation is a first step in preparing the region for the election campaign that will take place in December 2010, but which started with his leaving. The party “Obnovlenie” will probably have the same rhetoric and will accuse Igor Smirnov of the problems encountered by the Transnistrian region, he said, adding that the further developments will greatly depend on Russian’s opinion as this country will not remain uninvolved. Asked what he thinks about the referendum on the modification of the Constitution set to take place in Transnistria, Vrabie said that it is hard to make forecasts, because it is very difficult to find out what is happening inside the Tiraspol administration. “During many years, the Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov used so-called referendums with tendentious questions.” It is yet sure that the ratio of forces has not changed much because “Obnovlenie” continues to hold a majority in the Supreme Soviet, the program coordinator said. He also said that a number of players are involved in the political struggle in Transnistria, namely “Obnovlenie” headed by Evgheni Shevchuk, the administration of Igor Smirnov and the vice president of the breakaway republic Alexandr Korolev, who is regarded as Smirnov’s successor. The head of the Supreme Soviet in Transnistria Evgheni Shevchuk resigned on July 8 after the new version of the Constitution of the region proposed by the Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov was not accepted. “This document will lead to the destruction of the state. They try to empower a single person that will decide on practically all the elective posts,” Shevchuk said, quoted by Regnum Agency.