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Economy

Transnistria has a mixed economy. Following a large scale privatisation process in the late 1990s, most of the companies in Transnistria are now privately owned. The economy is based on a mix of heavy industry (steel production), electricity production, and manufacturing (textile production), which together account for about 80% of the total industrial output.

Transnistria has its own central bank, the Transnistrian Republican Bank, which issues its national currency, the Transnistrian ruble. It is convertible at a freely floating exchange rate but only in Transnistria.

Transnistria's economy is frequently described as dependent on contraband and gunrunning. Some commentators, including Zbigniew Brzezinski, have even labelled it a mafia state. These allegations are denied by the Transnistrian government, and sometimes downplayed by the officials of Russia and Ukraine.