Vărăncău (, , ''Voronkovo'', ) is a commune in the

Rîbnița District The Rîbnița District (; ; ) is an administrative district of Transnistria (''de facto'') in Moldova (''de jure''). Its seat is the city of Rîbnița, sometimes spelt as "Râbnița". It is located at . The district contains this city and 22 othe ...

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, composed of three villages: Buschi (Буськи), Gherșunovca (Гершунівка) and Vărăncău. It is located southeast of Rîbnița.

History

Woronków, as it was known in Polish, was a private village of the Lubomirski family, administratively located in the Bracław County in the Bracław Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

. Following the Second Partition of Poland, in 1793, it was annexed by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. In 1800 the Church of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary was built. In the late 19th century, it had a population of 2,073. The village Vărăncău is the site of the Church of the Blessed Virgin's Assumption, a Christian Orthodox church, construction of which was completed in 1800. Since then, the church has been open and functioning, standing much as it did when it first opened its doors. It is the only church in Transnistria which was never closed during the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

times when all other churches had to close, holding therefore a special significance for the religious community in Transnistria. In 1924, it became part of the Moldavian Autonomous Oblast, which was soon converted into the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1940 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. From 1941 to 1944, it was administered by

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

as part of the Transnistria Governorate. Vărăncău also had a now abandoned

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

aerodrome An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes inc ...

of the former

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. The long runway has today been turned into farmland. The aerodrome was repeatedly struck by drones flying over the village on 6 May 2022. This was part of a series of attacks that happened in Transnistria as the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

was developing. These incidents may have been a false flag operation by

or Transnistria itself. According to the 2004 census, the population of the village was 2,942 inhabitants, of which 899 (30.55%) were Moldovans (Romanians), 1,745 (59.31%) Ukrainians and 223 (7.57%) Russians.The Transnistrian census of 2004 data by nationality at http://pop-stat.mashke.org/pmr-ethnic-loc2004.htm

Notes

References

External links

"Voronkovo: Turning weapons into plowshares"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varancau, Transnistria Communes of Transnistria Rîbnița District