There is lots of rather mindless hype on the internet by people trying to make an exciting story, as usual.
My impression was that it's a nice place. Tiraspol is a provincial town with a good few Soviet monuments; Bender has a restored Ottoman fortress and in general the place is very friendly and feels somewhat trapped in time.
If you are particularly interested in post-Soviet politics then there might be an additional draw for you. It has its own currency if that interests you.
I drove much of the length of Transnistria and stayed with a local family outside Tiraspol for 3 days. Very nice experience, which I wrote up here: https://eurasiaoverland.com/2011/10/31/31/
Strangest place you'll ever see? I doubt it.
EO
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EurasiaOverland a memoir of one quarter of a million kilometres by road through all of the Former USSR, Western and Southern Asia.
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