Transdnestr, which has a largely Russian-speaking population, has seen a significant decrease in industrial output of late. The government has said that average salaries will fall in 2009 and that unemployment will rise as local factories shut down.

In the statement, the Supreme Council said the move was aimed at "creating conditions for reducing negative tendencies in the economy and providing support for the least protected layer of society."

Transdnestr declared its independence from Moldova in 1990. Russia has had peacekeepers in the rebel province since July 1992.

In late 2007, Russia sent 640 million rubles ($23 million at the current exchange rate) in humanitarian aid to Transdnestr to relive economic woes exacerbated by a drought.