audio, stills, text and or video: Go to http://www.zReportage.com to see more - The self-declared country of Transnistria clings to its Soviet roots. Located on a sliver of land where the eastern border of Moldova meets Ukraine, Transnistria has its own government, parliament, military, police and postal system, but remains unrecognized internationally. The territory maintains a Soviet feel that has been described as ''surreal'', with the flag sporting the hammer and sickle emblem of Communism. Soviet-era monuments still look out over public areas and buildings adorned with socialist-realist murals. These Communist relics are actively cared for and maintained thanks to municipal funds. Though it has all the trappings of an independent nation, it isn't officially recognized by any other sovereign nation - not even Russia - and to all intents and purposes is still considered to be part of Moldova.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 13, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - In front of the Transnistrian government building, Lenin glares purposefully into a future which never arrived. Transnistria (also called Trans-Dniestr or Transdniestria) is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the River Dniester and the eastern Moldovan border with Ukraine.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 11, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - A resident with her Transnistrian ''passport'', the only in the world to still feature the hammer and sickle. The passports are not recognized outside of Transnistria so residents must also have a passport from a recognized country if they want to travel.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 8, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - The badge on the side of a train illustrates the once global ambitions of the erstwhile soviet regime.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 13, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - A man cycles through Victory Park (Park Pobyedy) on a misty weekday morning. Streets and public places have retained their Soviet names, with many harking back to the glories of the 1917 communist revolution or (Park Pobyedy is an example) victory in what Russians call the Great Patriotic War, over Nazi Germany.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 12, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - A young music student waiting for a bus.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 11, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - A young soldier on the night he finished 18 months of mandatory military service. Between swills of vodka he described his time in the army as ''necessary, but like hell'' and said he planned to spend a week resting in bed before he did anything else.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 7, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - A woman looks over the names inscribed on a monument to the War of Transnistria in the centre of Tiraspol.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 8, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - A stained glass mural representing ''Pioneers'' the communist youth group, glows above the main lobby of the T.G. Shevchenko University.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 12, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - A woman selling freshly butchered meat at the market in Bendery. The market still uses the same infrastructure marketeers used during the soviet era, right down to the bibs many of the women wear. The result is a space which appears frozen in time.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 11, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - A woman in her home in Tiraspol points out the lines of the Transnistrian anthem, pinned to the wall of her living room.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 11, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - The Transnistrian coat of arms at the entrance to Tiraspol. A marble statue of Lenin stands in background.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 13, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - A woman in Tiraspol heads for work carrying a bunch of carnations.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 12, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - Crows stream over rooftops as the light fades on another grey winter's day. Most apartments are fashioned in the Soviet brutalist style, with little regard for outward grace.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 11, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - Soldiers cross railway lines. With mandatory military service for young men, soldiers feature prominently in life on the street in the breakaway republic.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 7, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - A pontoon ferry floats cars across the Dniester river in the centre of Tiraspol.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb 12. 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - A woman takes a customer through the different flavors of her homemade cheese in the market in Bendery. The market still uses the same infrastructure marketeers used during the soviet era, right down to the bibs many of the women wear. The result is a space which appears frozen in time.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 12, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - Russian soldiers man a checkpoint at Bendery. An armoured car sits under the camouflage netting. Visitors to Transnistria coming from Moldova must register themselves and complete all the formalities of a border crossing at a checkpoint (*not this one*) manned by Russian, Transnistrian and Moldovan soldiers.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
Feb. 8, 2013 - Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova - In the town of Bendery, close to the ''border'' with Moldova a freshly painted mural depicts scenes from the 1917 communist revolution. In Transnistria municipal funds ensure the communist relics are actively cared for.
© Amos Chapple/zReportage.com/ZUMA Press
