Religion in Transnistria

However, as recently as 2009, registration hurdles were met with by some religious groups, notably the Jehovah's Witnesses and according to information from the organization itself, they have 4,300 members in the territory.

The territory of Transnistria is under the Diocese of Chișinău and All Moldova [ru] of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church.

[10][11] Today Islam is one of the smallest religions in Transnistria, with the majority of the population being Orthodox or atheist, but until the beginning of the 20th century it was professed by a significant amount.

[12] The history of the spread of Islam in the region began after the Turkish Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent defeated the Principality of Moldavia in August 1538.

On the site of the former citadel, the famous Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan designed a more advanced fortification called the Bender Fortress.

In 1789, during the Russo-Turkish war, Prince Potemkin allowed the entire Muslim population of the besieged city to leave it with the possibility of selling houses, property and livestock.

[14][15][16] There are no rabbis in Transnistria, so religious rites are performed by Jewish hazzans who live in the territory of the Republic of Moldova.