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Tighina, Moldova
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Tighina or Bender (Romanian (Moldovan): Tighina or Bender, Moldovan Cyrillic: Тигина or Бендер; Russian: Бендéры/Bendery; Ukrainian: Бендéри/Bendery) is a city controlled by the authorities of Transnistria, the breakaway region of Moldova, although geographically on the right bank of the river Dniester. Together with the village of Proteagailovca, the city forms a municipality, which Moldova considers separate from Transnistria. Tighina is located in the buffer zone established at the end of the War of Transnistria. While the Joint Control Commission has overriding powers, Transnistria has de facto administrative control over the city and both Moldova and breakaway Transnistria have small police forces in the city.
NameKnown in the middle ages as Tighina (in Romanian sources) and Bender (in Turkish sources), it was called Bender for the most part of the time the city belonged to the Ottoman (1538-1812) and Russian Empires (1812-1917), and as Tighina when it belonged to the Principality of Moldavia (before 1538), in the early part of the Russian Empire (1812), and during the time the city belonged to Romania (1918-1940). During the Soviet period the city was known in the Moldavian SSR as Бендер (Bender) in Moldovan written then with the Cyrillic alphabet, and as Бендéры (Bendery) in Russian.
NameKnown in the middle ages as Tighina (in Romanian sources) and Bender (in Turkish sources), it was called Bender for the most part of the time the city belonged to the Ottoman (1538-1812) and Russian Empires (1812-1917), and as Tighina when it belonged to the Principality of Moldavia (before 1538), in the early part of the Russian Empire (1812), and during the time the city belonged to Romania (1918-1940). During the Soviet period the city was known in the Moldavian SSR as Бендер (Bender) in Moldovan written then with the Cyrillic alphabet, and as Бендéры (Bendery) in Russian. Moldova kept the name Bender after it became independent in 1991. The breakaway authorities of Transnistria (which currently have control over the city) use the names Бендер/Bender, Бендéры/Bendery, and Бендéри/Bendery in Moldovan, Russian, and Ukrainian, respectively.
AdministrationVyacheslav Kogut is the city's current mayor.
HistoryTighina was first mentioned as an important customs post in a commerce grant issued by the Moldavian voivod Alexandru cel Bun the merchants of Lviv on October 8 1408. The document is written in Old Slavonic, and the place is named Тягянакача. The name "Tighina" is found in documents from the second half of the 15th century. The town was the main Moldavian custom point on the commercial road linking the country to Tatars' Crimea.
In 1538, the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent conquered the town from Moldavia, and renamed it Bender. The fortress was re-built under the supervison of the Turkish architect Koji Mimar Sinan, and was renamed the Bender Fortress (cf. Turkish language: Bender, Gate). The Ottomans used it to keep the pressure on Moldavia.
In the 18th century, the fort's area was expanded and modernized by the prince of Moldavia Antioh Cantemir, who carried out these works under Ottoman supervision.
In 1709, the fortress, the town, and the neighboring village Varniţa were the site of a couple skirmishes (kalabalik) between Charles XII of Sweden, who had taken refuge there with the Cossack Hetman Ivan Mazepa after their defeat in the Battle of Poltava, and Turks who wished to take the Swedish king hostage and exploit the political difficulties of central Europe.
During the second half of the 18th century, the fortress fell three times to the Russians during the Russo-Turkish Wars (in 1770, 1789, and finally in 1806 without a fight).
Along with Bessarabia, the city was annexed to the Russian Empire in 1812, and remained part of the Russian gubernia of Bessarabia until 1917.
As a part of Bessarabia, Tighina belonged to the Moldavian Democratic Republic (1917-1918), and Romania (1918-1940, 1941-1944).
Along with Bessarabia, the city was occupied by the Soviet Union on June 28, 1940, following an ultimatum. In the course of World War II, it was retaken by Romania in July 1941, and again by the USSR in August 1944.
In 1940-41, and 1941-1991 it was one of the four "republican cities" (i.e. insubordinated to a district) of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union. Since 1991, the city is part of the independent Republic of Moldova.
During the War of Transnistria (1992), because of the city's key strategic location on the right bank of Dniester river, 10 km from left-bank Tiraspol, it was the biggest of the three battlefields of that war.
Since 1992, Tighina is formally in the demilitarized zone established at the end of the conflict, but is de facto controlled by Transnistrian authorities. Moldovan authorities control the village of Varniţa, which fringes the city to the north.
Famous nativesFamous people born in the city include:
Two Ottoman Grand Viziers known as Benderli PashaLev Simonovich Berg, Jewish Soviet zoologist and geographerTamara Buciuceanu, Romanian actressEmil Constantinescu, former President of RomaniaIuliu Filippovitch Edlis, dramatist, writerEvgenii Konstantinovitch Fiodorov, Russian geophysicistJerzy Neyman, Polish statisticianMichael Postan, British economic historianAnna Pavlovna Tanskaia, singerConstantin Andronic, artistExternal linksCity portalMap of the cityBender travel information
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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