This immediately made me think of how foreign journalists and travel bloggers write about the Transnistrian region. They often call it “Europe’s last Soviet state” and present it as an exotic country frozen in time.
But it is not a state. It is part of the Republic of Moldova, controlled by a Russian-backed separatist regime. When that context is left out, the coverage does more than romanticise Soviet symbols. It repeats the separatist narrative and gives the region a legitimacy it does not have.
This was a very good read, thanks. For some reason Moldova seems to suffer more than most other states from misrepresentation of how it really is. I found it really frustrating that bloggers and Instagram people focus on hotel Chisinău and soviet buildings when the city is colourful, and I thought very cosy and friendly.
I think one of the issues is that this lady specialises in stories on a specific subject. She says on her About page on her website https://frankiemills.co.uk/9/ that she specialises in stories about displacement. The issue is then for the New York Times to pick this up as a general story about Moldova or for you to see it this way. When I look at her Instagram and her website, I have to say that it is not just Moldova that looks grey.
Thank you, David, for this thorough and analytical commentary on the article. I also felt incredibly frustrated by how Mills chose to portray Moldova. I read NYT religiously and it seems that their articles on Moldova follow a pattern of depicting the country quite backwards and stuck in the Soviet era.
This immediately made me think of how foreign journalists and travel bloggers write about the Transnistrian region. They often call it “Europe’s last Soviet state” and present it as an exotic country frozen in time.
But it is not a state. It is part of the Republic of Moldova, controlled by a Russian-backed separatist regime. When that context is left out, the coverage does more than romanticise Soviet symbols. It repeats the separatist narrative and gives the region a legitimacy it does not have.
Great piece, David.
Thanks Ana!!
This was a very good read, thanks. For some reason Moldova seems to suffer more than most other states from misrepresentation of how it really is. I found it really frustrating that bloggers and Instagram people focus on hotel Chisinău and soviet buildings when the city is colourful, and I thought very cosy and friendly.
I think one of the issues is that this lady specialises in stories on a specific subject. She says on her About page on her website https://frankiemills.co.uk/9/ that she specialises in stories about displacement. The issue is then for the New York Times to pick this up as a general story about Moldova or for you to see it this way. When I look at her Instagram and her website, I have to say that it is not just Moldova that looks grey.
Thank you, David, for this thorough and analytical commentary on the article. I also felt incredibly frustrated by how Mills chose to portray Moldova. I read NYT religiously and it seems that their articles on Moldova follow a pattern of depicting the country quite backwards and stuck in the Soviet era.