Transnistria declared independence in 1983, several days after they had received word that a nuclear war had just occurred between the Soviet Union and the United States. The interim government declared martial law in preparation for the hordes of refugees they thought would come, but to their surprise few managed to reach the fledgling nation. The region only became truly stable in 1999, when martial law was lifted and the radiation decrease reduce the amount of radiation sickness in the populace.