Transnistria is a region in Eastern Europe that is under the effective control of the self-declared Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic but is recognized by the international community as an administrative unit of Moldova, the Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester. The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic uses a coat of arms based on the arms of the former Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester use the coat of arms of Moldova.

Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic

The coat of arms of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic constitutes a remodeled version of the former Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic's emblem, which was replaced by the internationally recognized Moldovan government after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The only major pictorial change made in the Transnistrian version involves the addition of waves, representing the River Dniester. However, the inscriptions on the banner were changed: unlike the Moldavian SSR emblem, which bore the acronym РССМ (for "Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic") and the USSR state slogan "Workers of the world, unite!" in the Romanian and Russian languages, the Transnistrian emblem bears the name PRIDNESTROVIAN MOLDAVIAN REPUBLIC in the Russian, Romanian and Ukrainian languages. Despite the emblem's depiction of the hammer and sickle, Transnistria is not a socialist state. The current president of Transnistria, Vadim Krasnoselsky, who identifies himself as a monarchist, has stated that he considers the Soviet symbolism in the emblems of his country to be "irrelevant".

Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester

The law which formally established the Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester contains provisions for the region to adopt its own symbols. The region has not currently adopted a distinctive emblem therefore the Coat of arms of Moldova are used for official purposes.

Historical symbols