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The only tourist in Moldova

telegraph.co.uk

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Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#341

Post by lesuorac »

ossobuco wrote: post #327
sam_lowry_ wrote: post #320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Nah, just don't break their laws, it's pretty simple. Merely opening this link [1] would send you into trouble irrespective of whether you are local or a tourist. This is the chatbot of an opposition media in exile, FYI. There is for sure a law under which you will be prosecuted. [1] https://t.me/nextamail_bot

As I said, don't break their laws. When in Rome...

Nobody is going to learn all the laws of a country. When the laws/custom of a country are so different than yours that a trivially legal act in your country becomes highly illegal in that country you should avoid that country because who knows what else you'll do that'll get you into trouble.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#342

Post by Beijinger »

Is Moldova so special? I was there some years ago, including Transnistria https://expatcircle.com/cms/emigration-today-transnistria/

Just came back from Ukraine, was really fun. But I must say, the Ukrainians don't know how to party. In such a situation, you must party like there is no tomorrow, but they don't. They have a curfew after 11. And speak low places are hard to find.

If you like to travel off the beaten track, check out the travel agency of some of my buddies: https://www.youngpioneertours.com/

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#343

Post by alxlaz »

ossobuco wrote: post #307
walterlw wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's about the difference between "was" and "is". Sure, a bunch of states were formally parts of the Russian Empire as well as the USSR. That doesn't mean you can reduce them to "it's just Russia", those lands and peoples had history prior to being invaded and some have been lucky to have had some independence since the fall of the USSR. Considering that there are people out there literally fighting to the death not…

Personally I took that "in russia" like I would with "in europe...insert generalization here". As in Russia the general area, not specifically the country. Similarly we still refer to a good part of the Balkans as ex-Yugoslavia.

The ex part there is a rather important distinction :-) and there is no "general area" called Russia.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#344

Post by protomolecule »

almostgotcaught wrote: post #316
throwaway7ahgb wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are many countries where Russian is spoken as a language and when people identify as "Russian" it is mostly the traditions and history. It has nothing to do with geopolitics. It is language, religion, family values, holidays, food, celebrations, traditions, etc.... This is what is meant by identifying as Russian. There are people proud to say they have this heritage, it doesn't mean you are a Putin lover and wa…

> It is language, religion, family values, holidays, food, celebrations, traditions, etc.... This is what is meant by identifying as Russian. Complete BS. The only people in Moldova/Romania that identify as Russian are Russians or Putin sympathizers. And this is also true of most other former soviets I've met . No one is "proud" of having been colonized by the USSR. Source: am Moldovan.

[flagged]

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#345

Post by [deleted] »

ossobuco wrote: post #299
alxlaz wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"History" might be a thing but Moldova has not been part of the USSR for more than 30 years now, and has been part of the Russian Empire for only about a hundred years (after the peace of 1812 and until shortly after the first World War). It was one of the shortest-lived imperial possessions. > Also a good portion of the population identifies as Russian. Said "good portion" is about 4%, according to the latest census…

The south of Italy still has leftovers of Arabic cultural influence from the Arab occupation in the VIII century. That lasted about 300 years but we're talking about a millenium ago, so it's perfectly reasonable to consider Moldova as culturally influenced by Russia, even if just for the geographical proximity.

[deleted]

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#346

Post by fer »

SomeoneFromCA wrote: post #274
kjellsbells wrote: post #58

Central Asia still remains largely untouristed. I loved this article from the New York Times concerning a boy who taught himself Russian and then went to Kazakhstan with his father to immerse himself. The Foreign Language That Changed My Teenage Son’s Life https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/17/magazine/russian-language...

Central Asia (where I actually live) does not have much to see, esp. Kazakhstan. The main tourist destinations are historical monuments in Uzbekistan which has huge tourist influx lately (every time I am in Uzbekistan I see a good deal of tourists around hotels). Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have beautiful mountains, nature. Kazakhstan is bit dull post-Soviet place, Almaty resembles more some city in Eastern Europe than…

> Central Asia (where I actually live) does not have much to see, esp. Kazakhstan

I think this is the "I live here" bias. I've hit most stans, each is unique and worth a visit in their own ways, but I give you that a random snapshot from Almaty could have been taken anywhere in the USSR.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#347

Post by actionfromafar »

lesuorac wrote: post #341
ossobuco wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I said, don't break their laws. When in Rome...

Nobody is going to learn all the laws of a country. When the laws/custom of a country are so different than yours that a trivially legal act in your country becomes highly illegal in that country you should avoid that country because who knows what else you'll do that'll get you into trouble.

Iran in particular has started to take foreigners hostage to trade prisoners with abroad. Laws don't matter much in Iran.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#348

Post by SomeoneFromCA »

throwaway290 wrote: post #339
SomeoneFromCA wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you describe is not normal today (unless we are talking about some Mukhosransk type of cities), and certainly was not normal in USSR, which kept civil infrastructure in a good shape. As someone who is currently living in Central Asia, yes I do have no water for two weeks a year, they switch it off for "maintenance". However all last 5+ years, I had water through summer, with only occasional failures. We did have…

Sure, they keep water hot in select cities, and the rest is Mukhosransk territory that doesn't matter. You could be from Moscow with that logic! Respectfully you have no idea, planned hot water downtime in summer is reality for most cities in Russia (including SPb with official maximum length of two weeks), don't try to paint it look better than the mess it is. Other post-Soviet countries probably do better, especial…

have you read the original post?

> Old Soviet style communities get hot water from central plants, mainly used for heating but also for showers, so when winter is over, they shutdown the heating plants for the season and no hot water at all

Because if you reread it, you'll get the ridiculousness of that claim. So what you saying that situation in ex-USSR is such that there is only hot water during the winter. This is ridiculous, even taking into account grievances you have about Russian infrastructure.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#349

Post by inglor_cz »

protomolecule wrote: post #344
almostgotcaught wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It is language, religion, family values, holidays, food, celebrations, traditions, etc.... This is what is meant by identifying as Russian. Complete BS. The only people in Moldova/Romania that identify as Russian are Russians or Putin sympathizers. And this is also true of most other former soviets I've met . No one is "proud" of having been colonized by the USSR. Source: am Moldovan.

[flagged]

Frivolous?

Stalin's campaign against various subjugated nations (Baltic, Crimean Tatars etc.) would fit right in, only it happened generation(s) later, in a supposed Paradise of Workers and Peasants.

Mass deportations, artificial famine, mass executions, torture.

Re: The only tourist in Moldova

#350

Post by alxlaz »

protomolecule wrote: post #344
almostgotcaught wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It is language, religion, family values, holidays, food, celebrations, traditions, etc.... This is what is meant by identifying as Russian. Complete BS. The only people in Moldova/Romania that identify as Russian are Russians or Putin sympathizers. And this is also true of most other former soviets I've met . No one is "proud" of having been colonized by the USSR. Source: am Moldovan.

[flagged]

Yes. Many of the Russian Empire's, and later USSR's former territories have their own versions of the trail of tears, reservations, and atrocities in Congo, except with Russian/Soviets at the privileged end. It's not a frivolous use of the word at all.
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