After having described the frozen conflict between the Republic of Moldova and the separatist selfproclaimed
Moldavian Republic of Transnistria (PMR), this article aims at analysing the situation undergone by
inhabitants of this breakaway region in terms of human security. Transnistria presents some peculiar features in
today’s Europe, as far as it is still not controlled by Moldovan authorities, but rather ruled de facto by a
Communist-styled and mafia-oriented power backed by Russia. These circumstances have led to critical
(weapons proliferation, human-beings trafficking) and pervasive (smuggling, poverty, low level of education)
attacks to individual security since the breakdown of the Soviet Union. Furthermore, the particular status of this
“pseudo-State” prevents external actors from tackling the issue in a satisfying manner