This tiny country is a laboratory for Russia’s dirty tricks
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Since the Soviet Union collapsed, a good quarter of Moldovans—no one knows the figure for sure—have chosen to build new lives abroad. Two decades ago roughly half of such emigrants used to headfor jobs in Russia, whichhad ruled them from 1944 to 1991; the other half tried their luck in western Europe.
But now the traffic is nearly all westward. Especially since Russia’s assault on Ukraine in 2022, the entire country of 2.5m or so people, with a few peculiar territorial exceptions, has been pivoting towards the EU. A presidential election and simultaneous referendum on October 20th are expected to confirm this trend—so long as Russia’s unprecedented array of dirty tricks can be fended off.
If the opinion polls are right, the incumbent, Maia Sandu, should easily win the first round of the contest against ten other candidates. Her chief opponent is Alexandr Stoianoglo, a staunch pro-Russian. Even if she does not win outright in the first round, she is expected to prevail in a run-off on November 3rd.
She is the most dedicated reformer in Moldova’s post-Soviet history—and its most robust fighter against the pervasive blight of corruption. The referendum, however, matters even more. The voters are being asked to change the constitution to endorse the government’s decision to seek membership of the EU.
Russia, determined to win back influence over itsformer peripheral domains, is dead against the idea—and is using every trick to kibosh the yes vote in a brazen campaign of hybrid warfare. This has entailed a mix of disinformation,bribery and low-level violence, including payments for rowdy protests. Cyber-attacks have targetedthe healthministry and postal services.
Read more on livemint.com
