Sat Mar 4 2023 - 11:00. The village of Roghi of Molovata Nou Commune is also controlled by the PMR (Moldova controls the other nine of the 10 villages of the six communes). The unfinished building was nearing completion in 2004 when Transnistria took control of it during that year's school crisis. [104], As of 2007[update], the armed forces and the paramilitary of Transnistria were composed of around 4,5007,500 soldiers, divided into four motorised infantry brigades in Tiraspol, Bender, Rbnia, and Dubsari. With 2021 coming to a close, it's time to highlight seven more major companies that rose to the occasion this year. 19. 1 Tiraspol - The capital with 168,000 inhabitants. " ", Council Decision 2006/96/CFSP of 14 February 2006 implementing Common Position 2004/179/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against the leadership of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova, "Transnistrian Communist Party leader released on probation", Moldova Strategic Conflict Assessment (SCA), "Valeri Litskai: A situation based on pressure and threats cannot be considered favorable for the revival of contacts", "Russia's humanitarian assistance is a planned propagandist action, Chiinu claims", "Russian troops in Transnistria a threat to the security of the Republic of Moldova", Institute of Political and Military Studies, Chiinu, Moldova, NATO must recognize Russia's compliance with Istanbul accords, "Russian Troops In Transnistria Squeezed By Ukraine And Moldova", "McCain Backs Demand For Russian Troop Withdrawal From Transdniester", "Ukraine blocked Russian contingent to Transnistria (Moldova)", "With Russia Boxed In, Frozen Transdniester Conflict Could Heat Up", "La Tiraspol, faci pucrie, dac negi "rolul pozitiv" al armatei ruse", "Transnistria denies preparing to join Russia's war with Ukraine", "Russia is preparing a pretext for invading Ukraine: US official", "Russia says it prevented border breach from Ukraine, Kyiv calls it fake news", "Russia says crippled warship to be towed back to port, as Ukraine claims missile hit", "Moldauische Konfliktregion Transnistrien meldet Explosionen", "Law enforcement and armed forces of Pridnestrovie", " 2015 ", " 2017 ", Trends in Europe and North America (Explanatory Notes), "Official data from 2004 census and comparison with the 1989 census, by Olvia Press", "World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples Transnistria (unrecognised state): Overview", "Christians Face Abuse from Corrupt Regime", ": - ", "Fear, football and torture undercover in Transnistria", "MOLDOVA: SITUATION ANALYSIS AND TREND ASSESSMENT", Queremos zonas de libre comercio tanto al Este como hacia el Oeste, "Privatization will solve the budget problem", " : ", "Shevchuk answering a question about 2007 Transnistrian budget", "Shevchuk explaining that the economic situation is not critical", " 2020 ", "Moldova: Separatist Transnistria Region Reorienting Trade from Russia to EU", Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2006, Statement by the Ministry of Education, Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, on the question of children's educational rights insurance, "Several Transnistrian officials were banned from traveling through EU", "Singurul liceu cu predare n limba romn din Tiraspol, forat s i suspende activitatea pentru 3 luni", "Western Diplomats Say Reports Of Smuggling From Transdniester Likely Exaggerated", UNDP: 2006 Small arms and light weapons survey of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester river and the MoldovanUkrainian border, as well as some land on the other side of the river's bank. [127] However, several years later, it decided to head toward a market economy. "[144], Public education in the Romanian language (officially called Moldovan language in Transnistria) is done using the Soviet-originated Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet. The March 2021 findings showed that 52% of the 166 focus companies targeted for engagement - which includes many of the largest and most carbon intensive in the world - had already committed to net-zero in some form. View 's profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. According to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) the media climate in Transnistria is restrictive and the authorities continue a long-standing campaign to silence independent opposition voices and groups. Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR),[c] is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabian Oil Company) went public barely two years back in 2019, and it is the world's second-largest company with a market cap of 2.206 Trillion dollars. Chitcani Monastery (Noul Neamt) 18 Religious Sites By TopToursMoldova THE VIEW FROM THE BELL TOWER IS AMAZING! Only the partially recognised or unrecognised states of South Ossetia, Artsakh, and Abkhazia have recognised Transnistria as a sovereign entity after it declared independence from Moldova in 1990 with Tiraspol as its declared capital. Although exercising no direct control over the territory of Transnistria, the Moldovan government passed the "Law on Basic Provisions of the Special Legal Status of Localities from the Left Bank of the Dniester" on 22 July 2005, which established part of Transnistria (territory of Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic without Bender and without territories, which are under control of Moldova) as an autonomous territorial unit within the Republic of Moldova. [117][118] Main non-CIS markets for the Transnistrian goods were Italy, Egypt, Greece, Romania, and Germany. Following the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the Russian 14th Army left 40,000 tons of weaponry and ammunition in Transnistria. Remark that we have left two companies out of this top for technical reasons. The term Transnistria was used in relation to eastern Moldova for the first time in 1989,[32][33][34] in the election slogan of the deputy and member of the Popular Front of Moldova Leonida Lari:[35][36][37]. - the largest telecommunications operator on the territory of Pridnestrovie, -the best cognacs, wine and drinks of Tiraspol; - production of cotton fabrics, knitwear and ready-made garments; - production of electric and heat energy by cogeneration plants; - the latest achievements and technologies in sturgeon breeding; [152], Coordinates: 4650N 2937E / 46.833N 29.617E / 46.833; 29.617. The first three are oriented toward exports, while Inter RAO UES delivers gas to Transniester and Moldova. junio 12, 2022. cottage for sale in timmins on . [81][82], A list published by the European Union bans travel to the EU for some members of the Transnistrian leadership.[83]. ", Protsyk, Oleh. The company faced a huge setback in 2012 along with other home building famous companies. Moldova has since then exercised no effective control or influence on Transnistrian authorities. However, the Moldovan/Ukrainian block remains in place and holds up progress in status settlement negotiations between the sides. A cafe in Transnistria called Back in the USSR (MEE/Andrei Popoviciu) Tiraspol announced earlier this year its highest ever trade turnover with Russia of more than $820 million. Between 1929 and 1940, Tiraspol functioned as the capital of the Moldavian ASSR, an autonomous republic that existed from 1924 to 1940 within the Ukrainian SSR. The capital city, which is also the largest, is Chiinu. In November 2003, Dmitry Kozak, a counselor of Russian president Vladimir Putin, proposed a memorandum on the creation of an asymmetric federal Moldovan state, with Moldova holding a majority and Transnistria being a minority part of the federation. [12][13][14] In March 2022, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution that defines the territory as under military occupation by Russia.[15]. Ethnic minorities felt threatened by the prospects of removing Russian as the official language, which served as the medium of interethnic communication, and by the possible future reunification of Moldova and Romania, as well as the ethnocentric rhetoric of the Popular Front. As of May 2022, Apple has a $2.223 Trillion market capitalization and is considered one of the largest companies, with 516 retail stores and around 147,000 employees. This is the list of the largest companies in the S&P 500 index by market capitalization. curtis wayne wright jr wife. However, as recently as 2005, registration hurdles were met with by some religious groups, notably the Jehovah's Witnesses. The OSCE also observed and verified the withdrawal of 48 trains with military equipment and ammunition in 2003. [51][52] Nevertheless, no significant action was taken against Transnistria and the new authorities were slowly able to establish control of the region. On Feb. 28, the so-called Ministry of Defense of unrecognized Transnistria announced a three-month military training campaign. Russian-occupied Transnistria announces three-month military training for men starting from March 1. China Petrochemical Corporation or Sinopec Group is the world's largest oil refining, gas and petrochemical conglomerate, administered by SASAC for the State Council of the People's Republic of China. Following is a list of largest companies in Pakistan: Conglomerates. January 30, 2023 Author: Luca Ventura In addition, another municipality, the City of Bender, situated on the western bank of the Dniester, in Bessarabia, and geographically outside Transnistria, is not part of the territorial unit of Transnistria as defined by the Moldovan central authorities, but it is controlled by the PMR authorities, which consider it part of PMR's administrative organisation: Each of the districts is further divided into cities and communes. The 2007 Freedom in the World report, published by the U.S.-based Freedom House, described Transnistria as a "non-free" territory, having an equally bad situation in both political rights and civil liberties. The company is the second-largest IT company in India and top 10 IT Companies after TCS by the revenue figures of 2021. [21] This agreement was implemented after the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) took force in 2005. ", Cojocaru, Natalia. In the interest of preserving a unified Moldavian SSR within the USSR and preventing the situation escalating further, then Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, while citing the restriction of civil rights of ethnic minorities by Moldova as the cause of the dispute, declared the Transnistria proclamation to be lacking legal basis and annulled it by presidential decree on 22 December 1990. The airforce is composed of 9 Mi-8T helicopters, 6 Mi-24 helicopters, 2 Mi-2 helicopters, and several fixed-wing aircraft, including, An-2, An-26 and Yak-18 types. PMR official statistics show that 91% of the Transnistrian population adhere to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, with 4% adhering to Roman Catholicism. [96] On 21 May 2015, the Ukrainian parliament passed a law terminating five co-operation agreements with Russia. The Ministry of Defense (MOD) of Moldova dismissed earlier the rumors about preparing a military operation in Transnistria. [47] Transnistria's ethnic and linguistic composition differed significantly from most of the rest of Moldova. Mihai Grecu, Anatol ranu, Trupele Ruse n Republica Moldova (Culegere de documente i materiale). [57], The 5+2 format (or 5+2 talks; composed by Transnistria, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE, plus the United States and the EU as external observers) for negotiation was started in 2005 to deal with the problems, but without results for many years as it was suspended. Here you get access to unique top lists based on the 500,000 largest companies in the Nordic region. [120][121][122][bettersourceneeded] Some commentators, including Zbigniew Brzezinski, have even labelled it a mafia state. On 19 July 2004, after it finally passed through parliament President Vladimir Putin signed the Law on the ratification of the CFE Treaty in Europe, which committed Russia to remove the heavy armaments limited by this Treaty. Transnistria is landlocked and borders Bessarabia (the region the Republic of Moldova is based on, for 411km, 255 miles) to the west, and Ukraine (for 405km, 250 miles) to the east. largest company in transnistria +1 (760) 205-9936. Violence escalated when in October 1990 the Popular Front called for volunteers to form armed militias to stop an autonomy referendum in Gagauzia, which had an even higher share of ethnic minorities. Transnistrians are able to travel (normally without difficulty) in and out of the territory under PMR control to neighbouring Moldovan-controlled territory, to Ukraine, and on to Russia, by road or (when service is not interrupted by political tensions) on two international trains, the year-round Moscow-Chiinu, and the seasonal Saratov-Varna. 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.[118]. The region can also be referred to in English as Trans-Dniester[30] or Transdniestria. The company was established in 1994 by Jeff Bezos. They are situated north and south of the city of Dubsari, which itself is under PMR control. The entire economy of Transniestria can more or less be reduced to five companies: a cement producer, a steel producer, Tirotex, Russian energy company Inter RAO UES, and Sheriff. This was announced by the so-called Ministry of Defense of the unrecognised republic. Gumenyuk insisted that the Ukrainian forces stationed near the border with the unrecognised . [90] During 20002001, although the CFE Treaty was not fully ratified, to comply with it, Moscow withdrew 125 pieces of Treaty Limited Equipment (TLE) and 60 railway wagons containing ammunition from the Transnistrian region of Moldova. [91][92] As of 2007[update] however, Russia insists that it has already fulfilled those obligations. [94], In a NATO resolution on 18 November 2008, Russia was urged to withdraw its military presence from the "Transdnestrian region of Moldova". [101] In that prelude, similar unattributed clashes happened in Donbas in February 2022: Ukraine denied being involved in those incidents and called them a false flag operation as well. Armenia News - NEWS.am. Elections take place within a multi-party system. In Rbnia District they were a 29.9% minority, and in the city of Tiraspol, they constituted a 15.2% minority of the population. 173 from 22 July 2005 "About main notes about special legal status of settlements of left bank of Dnestr (Transnistria)": Jos Boonstra, Senior Researcher, Democratisation Programme, FRIDE. Transnistria declared a "humanitarian catastrophe" in the region, while Moldova called the declaration "deliberate misinformation". [10] Transnistria is officially designated by the Republic of Moldova as the Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester (Romanian: Unitile Administrativ-Teritoriale din stnga Nistrului)[11] or as Stnga Nistrului ("Left Bank of the Dniester"). BNS. The report also states that the same holds true for the production of such weapons, which is likely to have been carried out in the 1990s, primarily to equip Transnistrian forces. [139] The energy sector is dominated by Russian companies. The company owns almost everything in the region: petrol stations, supermarkets, a television channel, construction company, etc. As part of the ceasefire agreement, a three-party (Russia, Moldova, Transnistria) Joint Control Commission supervises the security arrangements in the demilitarised zone, comprising 20 localities on both sides of the river. Tesla began 2022 as the world's fifth largest company by market cap and ended the year in 11th place after their CEO Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter. News and Reports Midnight Edition 12/23-24/23 - Transnistria in the Spotlight with Largest Arsenal in Europe That Ukraine Desperately Needs. Under the guise of protection of Russia's interests, the special unit's soldiers used to be transferred to areas of conflict - Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, Crimea, Georgia. The short form is Pridnestrovie (Russian: , pronounced[pr.dn.stro.vju]; Romanian: Nistrenia, Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet: ,[38] pronounced[nis.tre.ni.ja]; Ukrainian: ', Prydnistrovia, pronounced[pr.dni.str.j]), meaning "[land] by the Dniester". In 2020, the Transnistrian Customs reported exports of US$633.1million and imports of US$1,052.7million. A substantial number of Poles clustered in northern Transnistria were Ukrainianised during Soviet rule. Return to the USSR - Excursion in Transnistria 11 Recommended by 90% of travelers Bus Tours from $114.30 per adult Tiraspol must-see tour - Transnistria 112 Recommended by 98% of travelers Private and Luxury from $27.21 per adult 3. [55] Starting from 2 March 1992, there was concerted military action between Moldova and Transnistria. Both Swiss companies' agrochemical and pharmaceutical divisions made Novartis the company it is today. Under OSCE auspices, on 8 May 1997, Moldovan President Petru Lucinschi and Transnistrian president Igor Smirnov, signed the "Memorandum on the principles of normalization of the relations between the Republic of Moldova and Transnistria", also known as the "Primakov Memorandum", sustaining the establishment of legal and state relations, although the memorandum's provisions were interpreted differently by the governments of Moldova and Transnistria. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is trying to facilitate a negotiated settlement. [15], On 14 April 2022, one of Ukraine's deputy defence ministers, Hanna Maliar, stated that Russia was massing its troops along the borders with Transnistria but the Transnistrian authorities denied it. C Cuciurgan power station G Gazprombank (Transnistria) I Intercentre Lux Interdnestrcom K KVINT M Moldova Steel Works S Sheriff (company) T Tiraspoltransgas Tirotex [99][bettersourceneeded], After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Transnistria declared it would maintain its neutrality in the situation and denied claims that it would assist in the attack on Ukraine. One city (Bender) and six villages on the west bank are controlled by the PMR, but are considered by Moldova as a separate municipality (Bender and village of Proteagailovca) or part of the Cueni District (five villages in three communes). No UN member state recognizes Transnistria, only three UN non-member states (South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)). largest company in transnistria. The largest power company Moldavskaya GRES (Cuciurgan power station) is in Dnestrovsc and owned by Inter RAO UES,[140] and the gas transmission and distribution company Tiraspoltransgas is probably controlled by Gazprom, although Gazprom has not confirmed the ownership officially. "Representation and democracy in Eurasia's unrecognized states: The case of Transnistria. In 2007, foreign experts working on behalf of the United Nations said that the historically low levels of transparency and continued denial of full investigations to international monitors have reinforced negative perceptions of the Transnistrian government, although recent co-operation by Transnistrian authorities may have reflected a shift in the attitude of Transnistria. The major centre of Bulgarians in Transnistria is the large village of Parcani (situated between the cities of Tiraspol and Bender), which had an absolute Bulgarian majority and a total population of around 10,000. It is an. The city is located on the . Most Bulgarians in Transnistria are Bessarabian Bulgarians, descendants of expatriates who settled in Bessarabia in the 18th19th century. Only the proportion of Ukrainians remained reasonably stable 27.2% in 1926, 28.3% in 1989 and 28.8% in 2004. Transnistria - officially called the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic by Moldova - is a narrow strip of land between Moldova and western Ukraine that is home to about 500,000 people. In 1941, after Axis forces invaded the Soviet Union during the Second World War, they defeated the Soviet troops in the region and occupied it. Total profits of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): -8,813 According to the Transnistrian authorities, the name of the state is the "Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic" (PMR) (Russian: , , Pridnestrvskaya Moldvskaya Respblika; Romanian: Republica Moldoveneasc Nistrean, RMN, Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet: , ; Ukrainian: , , Prydnistrvska Moldvska Respblika). The GDP increased by 11.1% and inflation rate was 19.3% with the GDP per capita now being $2,140, higher than Moldova's GDP per capita that is $2,040. As plans for major cultural changes in Moldova were made public, tensions rose further. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Transnistria wanted to return to a "Brezhnev-style planned economy". By ethnic composition, the population of Transnistria was distributed as follows: Russians 29.1%, Moldovans 28.6%, Ukrainians 22.9%, Bulgarians 2.4%, Gagauzians 1.1%, Belarusians 0.5%, Transnistrian 0.2%, other nationalities 1.4%. According to the government of Transnistria, the 2007 GDP was 6789 mln ruble (appx US$799million) and the GDP per capita was about US$1,500. Homosexuality was illegal, and gays and lesbians were subject to governmental and societal discrimination. It has 43 members who are elected for 5-year terms. The United States, the European Union, and the OSCE approved the Ukrainian move, while Russia saw it as a means of political pressure. Russian troops stationed in parts of Moldova except Transnistria since the time of the USSR were fully withdrawn to Russia by January 1993. One of the reasons for the creation of the Moldavian ASSR was the desire of the Soviet Union at the time to eventually incorporate Bessarabia. ", This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 08:08. The most influential Transnistrian company is Sheriff. [150] Their report stated that the evidence for the illicit production and trafficking of weapons into and from Transnistria, has in the past been exaggerated, although the trafficking of light weapons is likely to have occurred before 2001 (the last year when export data showed US$900,000 worth of 'weapons, munitions, their parts and accessories' exported from Transnistria). [100], During the prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian military intelligence stated on 14 January 2022 that they had evidence that the Russian government was covertly planning false flag "provocations" against Russian soldiers stationed in Transnistria, which would be used to justify a Russian invasion of Ukraine. murray park pool hours; oscillating universe theory strengths and weaknesses; avanti trainee train driver; wellstar health insurance; columbus county mugshots 2021 Primary. It slipped two spots in the global rankings to #16. OSCE and European Union officials stated in 2005 that there is no evidence that Transnistria "has ever trafficked arms or nuclear material" and much of the alarm is due to the Moldovan government's attempts to pressure Transnistria.[149]. During 2002 and 2003 Russian military officials destroyed a further 51 armoured vehicles, all of which were types not limited by the CFE Treaty. [141], According to a 2006 U.S. Department of State report:[142]. The current President is Vadim Krasnoselsky. For example, the percentage of Russians grew from 13.7% in 1926 to 25.5% in 1989 and further to 30.4% in 2004, while the Moldovan population decreased from 44.1% in 1926 to 39.9% in 1989 and 31.9% in 2004. The rankings and market cap data of these companies are updated regularly. In 1924, the Moldavian ASSR was proclaimed within the Ukrainian SSR; the ASSR included today's Transnistria (4,100km2, 1,600sqmi) and an area (4,200km2, 1,600sqmi) to the northeast around the city of Balta, but nothing from Bessarabia, which at the time formed part of Romania. Tiraspol is the second largest city in Moldova and is the capital and administrative centre of the de facto independent Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (Transnistria). Speaking on a conference call with . Romanian Nationalism in the Republic of Moldova, Kolsto, et al. ! See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover 's connections and jobs at similar companies. [143], According to a US Department of State report for 2006, "Both of the region's major newspapers were controlled by the authorities. In 2007, the registration of a Social Democratic Party was allowed. The top list data is always based on the latest available financial statements. [98], On 27 June 2016, a new law entered in force in Transnistria, punishing actions or public statements, including through the usage of mass media, networks of information and telecommunications or the Internet, criticising the military mission of the Russian Army stationed in Transnistria, or presenting interpretations perceived to be "false" by the Transnistrian government of the Russian Army's military mission. Bulgarians comprised 13,300 (2.8%), Gagauz 5,700 (1.2%) and Belarusians 2,800 (0.6%). Over the course of two days, 67 July 1949, a plan named "Operation South" saw the deportation of over 11,342 families by order of the Moldavian Minister of State Security, Iosif Mordovets. [citation needed]. The breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria has probably the largest weapons depots in eastern Europe. Moscow is concerned about the situation in Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria and is closely monitoring developments there, the Kremlin said Monday. In 2000 and 2001, Russia withdrew by rail 141 self-propelled artillery pieces and other armoured vehicles and destroyed locally, 108 T-64 tanks and 139 other pieces of military equipment limited by the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE). Transnistria-Ukraine relations is the bilateral relationship between the Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic (commonly known as Transnistria) . It ranks the most valuable public companies. The EU financed various projects in Abkhazia beginning in the late 1990s, and within a few years had become its largest donor. ", Blakkisrud, Helge, and Pl Kolst. Four of these schools were forcibly closed by the authorities, who claimed this was due to the refusal of the schools to apply for official accreditation. Transnistria has been recognised only by three other unrecognised or partially recognised breakaway states: Abkhazia, Artsakh and South Ossetia. Then president Sergei Bagapsh was also . [95], In 2011, US Senator John McCain claimed in a visit to Moldova that Moscow is violating the territorial integrity of Moldova and Georgia and one of the "fundamental norms" of "international behavior". [26] These four partially recognised or unrecognised states maintain friendly relations with each other and form the Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations.[27][28][29]. In 2001, in one region it was reported that Igor Smirnov collected 103.6% of the votes. Apart from that, the Operational Group of Russian Forces of around 1,000 soldiers and officers is stationed in the unrecognized republic to ensure the security of ammunition depots that store more . [22] Most Transnistrians have Moldovan citizenship,[23] but many also have Russian, Romanian, or Ukrainian citizenship. Largest European companies based on number of employees worldwide in 2020 (in 1,000s) Characteristic. One is Accenture: even though it is originally from the US and has a global headcount of more than 500,000, its headquarters is now located in Dublin, Ireland, making it an Ireland-based company. [109], In 2004, Transnistrian authorities organised a separate census from the 2004 Moldovan Census. [75] The majority in the Parliament of Transnistria belongs to the Renewal movement that defeated the Republic party affiliated with Igor Smirnov in 2005 and performed even better in the 2010 and 2015 elections. [146], The OSCE mission to Moldova has urged local authorities in the Transnistrian city of Rbnia to return a confiscated building to the Moldovan Latin script school in the city. [85] The largest company in the textile industry is Tirotex, which claims to be the second largest textile company in Europe. Size of this PNG preview of this SVG file: 800 400 pixels. For additional context, LinkedIn's ad reach in Transnistria was equivalent to 4.1 percent of the local internet user base (regardless of age) at the start of the year.