De Facto recommends

The war against Ukraine did not start in February 2022, but in the spring of 2014. And the root of the invasions goes back in time even more, as they were a delayed response to the collapse of the Soviet Union and earlier territorial claims. The online exhibition Borderlands - Ukraine in Historical Maps - with numerous maps and short commentaries, aims to shed some light on the historical backgrounds of the present war of Russia against Ukraine. It was curated by historian Harrie Teunissen and map curator Martijn Storms.

Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, a small rock in northern Africa conquered by Spain in 1564, holds the title for the world’s smallest national border, measuring just 85 meters in length.

Politicians in Moldova’s Kremlin-backed breakaway region of Transnistria have appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to “protect” it against “pressure” from Chișinău.

In 2023, the world around de facto states and secessionist entities became more and more unstable. As the power structures that have sustained many of these entities “unfreeze,” windows of opportunity opened for changing the status quo on the ground - changes mostly pursued through force.

A newly-published book explores the circumstances around the violence that accompanied Transnistria’s de facto secession from Moldova. Three decades later, finding new answers to old conundrums is key to preventing ongoing tensions from escalating.

As one of thousands of Turkish Cypriots, Sude Dogan is denied Cypriot citizenship because she is a child of a mixed marriage between a Cypriot and a Turkish parent. Tirelessly campaigning for citizenship rights of children in de facto states, she is under a ferocious attack by Turkish nationalists.

Some of the people who were forced to leave Ukraine after the Russian invasion have fled to Transnistria. Why are Ukrainians seeking sanctuary in a de facto state that receives financial and military support from Russia, and what is their status there?

A large share of Transnistria’s economy, including most of its budget, depends on a structural subsidy it receives from Russia in the form of free gas. As Ukraine has promised to stop all Russian pipelines going through its territory by the end of 2024, how will Transnistria cope?

In the Sixties the British government expelled them from their island. Exiled to the UK, they’ve never given up hope of returning to their island. ‘As more and more of our elders are dying, it is important to preserve our culture.’

Reber Dosky, who makes documentaries about Kurdistan and was our guest at De Facto Live #6, has been jailed for three days in Turkey. Dosky was there for a new project and got arrested because of suspected ‘terrorist activities’. (article in Dutch)

Architect of Catalonia’s illegal referendum of 2017 has signed deal to support Spain’s socialists in return for amnesty.

The change was requested by the Catalan pro-independence parties on whose support the acting prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is relying to form a new government after July’s general election resulted in a hung parliament.