Chisinau, Moldova
Nearly 10,000 people demonstrated in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau this week, protesting a Russian-backed plan to give a separatist region more autonomy. The region, known as Transdniester because it is across the Dniester River, is Russian-speaking and has been trying to break away from Romanian-speaking Moldova for more than a decade. Russian peacekeeping troops entered the region in 1991 and have not left. Last month, Russia said it would withdraw the troops if the former Soviet republic became a federation, with Transdniester as a semi-autonomous state and Russian as an official language alongside Romanian. Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin initially supported the plan but has backtracked because of domestic opposition.
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