Parcani ( ro, Parcani; bg, Паркани, ''Parkani''; uk, Паркани, ''Parkany''; russian: Парка́ны, ''Parkany'') is a large commune and village in the

Slobozia District Slobozia District ( ro, Raionul Slobozia; russian: Слободзейский район; uk, Слободзейський район) is a district of Transnistria. It is the southernmost district of Transnistria, located mostly south of Tirasp ...

Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

, a ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' independent entity within the internationally recognized borders of

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...

. The village has a population of around 10,500, of whom 95% are ethnic

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...

(

Bessarabian Bulgarians The Bessarabian Bulgarians ( bg, бесарабски българи, ''besarabski bǎlgari'', ro, bulgari basarabeni, uk, бесарабські болгари, ''bessarabski bolháry'') are a Bulgarian minority group of the historical region ...

). The first Bulgarian colonists arrived in the village in the early 19th century. According to some sources, it is the largest Bulgarian-majority village outside the borders of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. A monument to Bulgarian national hero

Vasil Levski Vasil Levski ( bg, Васил Левски, spelled in old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a national hero of Bulgaria. Dubbed t ...

was unveiled in Parcani in September 2008. The village lies between

Tiraspol Tiraspol or Tirișpolea ( ro, Tiraspol, Moldovan Cyrillic: Тираспол, ; russian: Тира́споль, ; uk, Тирасполь, Tyraspol') is the capital of Transnistria (''de facto''), a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the th ...

and Bender; it is serviced by the

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...

line between the two cities. Reports of an attack on a military unit of the

Armed Forces of Transnistria The Armed Forces of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic ( ro, Forțele armate ale Republicii Moldovenești Nistrene, Moldovan Cyrillic: Форцеле армате але Републичий Молдовенешть Нистрене; russian: ...

near Parcani appeared on 25 April 2022. It was later clarified that these reports referred to an attack that had occurred on that day on the

Tiraspol Airport Tiraspol Airport, russian: Тирасполь аэродром, Tiraspol' aerodrom, uk, Тирасполь аеродром, Tyraspolʹ aerodrom is an airport located in Tiraspol. It previously served as a military air base. History Until 1 ...

. This incident was part of a series of attacks of unknown authorship that occurred in Transnistria in that year during the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, which may have been a false flag operation by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

or Transnistria itself.

References

External links

Website of Parcani
{{Transnistria, Moldova Communes of Transnistria Bulgarian communities in Moldova Tiraspolsky Uyezd Slobozia District