Russian-Run Enclave Looks to Moscow Amid Tensions With Next-Door Moldova

Transnistria, a Russian-administered enclave that straddles parts of the Dniester River, requested Moscow’s support this week amid mounting tensions with Moldova’s pro-Western government. Only 1,600 square miles in size, Transnistria is internationally recognized as part of Moldova. But since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the enclave has been administered by Russia and remains home to more than 1,000 Russian troops. On Feb. 28, officials in Tiraspol, Transnistria’s capital, formally asked Moscow to “implement measures for defending Transnistria amid increasing pressure from Moldova.” They went on to assert that “more than 220,000 Russian citizens” were currently resident in the enclave....