The results leave no room for interpretation: Shevchuk won a total of 74% of votes, as against a mere 20% grabbed by Kaminski. Shevchuk is bound to take over the reigns of power from Igor Smirnov, a longtime client of Moscow, who is now in disfavor, particularly because of the poor management of funds disbursed by Kremlin. In his 20-year rule, Smirnov upheld the de facto separation from the Republic of Moldova, but preserved the territory’s political allegiance to Russia, whose military presence ensured the security in the breakaway region all this time. Generally viewed as a protectorate of Russia, Transdniestr might keep its relations with Kremlin unchanged, although the new leader has already called for refreshing relations with the Republic of Moldova.

Once the results were made public, Shevchuk said he would foster good neighborhood relations with the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine and will seek to strengthen its partnerships with Russia in all fields. The investiture of 43-year old Shevchuk, a jurist by profession, comes against the backdrop of the resumed negotiations regarding the status of Transdniestr. The Republic of Moldova has in fact expressed its confidence that the new leader in Tiraspol will help boost negotiations over the Transdniestr issue, although Shevchuk himself said that the region is unwilling to give up its unilaterally declared independence.

Transdniestr proclaimed its independence from Moldova in 1992 in the wake of an armed conflict that killed hundreds. The political swap in Tiraspol hasn’t gone unnoticed in the international press. Reuters writes that it is the second time in two months when a Moscow-backed candidate loses an election in a breakaway region enjoying Russian support, after South Ossetia. The French newspaper Le Monde notes that the new defiance comes at a time when the political regime in Moscow has been shaken by an unprecedented series of protests.