Hammer and Sickle

This image of Igor Smirnov behind the Transnistria coat of arms with a hammer and sickle motif could be thought of as slightly inflammatory to some of this site's visitors, which in some ways it is. Transnistria had the hammer and sickle on all their flags up until recently, but their PR gurus are trying to play down Transnistria's "Soviet" involvement, which is why we no longer have the motif on this site's logo.

It may be useful to know, however, that Transnistria authorities are kind of caught between a rock and a hard place - on the one hand they wish to appear forward-thinking and more European, and on the other they still wish to have close ties (possibly read allies) in Russia, which is why you will still see the hammer and sickle motif at some official occasions and appointments. This may also be an indication of some old-school Soviet personalities still having some sway in Transnistria's affairs, despite other's wishes to put all the old Soviet thinking behind them.