HAS RUSSIA quietly regained control of Moldova? Many observers believe that this is what actually happened in the tiny former Soviet Republic in November, when a pro-Western government collapsed suddenly, to be replaced by a new one that leaned firmly towards Moscow. There is even a rumor running around Chisinau, the sleepy capital of Moldova, that Aureliu Ciocoi, the new foreign minister, plans to remove all European flags from his ministry. Mr. Ciocoi looks shocked when asked. The flags are not going anywhere, he said, and there should be “no changes” in Moldova’s relations with the EU. However, since 2013, Russia has embargoed almost all wines and agricultural products from Moldova, and its country therefore wants “pragmatic relations” with Moscow.
Poverty makes it difficult for Moldova to defend itself, and its economy has been looted for years, especially at times when governments claiming to be pro-European were in control. Now, says Ciocoi, Moldova’s problems are so serious that if its government does not succeed, in a decade, the country could end up as much at Sotheby’s, a London auction house, “with a price of departure from 1 € “.
Mr. Ciocoi is not wrong to portray the problems of his country as existential. Emigration is now reaching such high levels, thanks to rampant corruption, a miserable economy and the attraction of better paying jobs in the EU, that a study predicts that in 2035, there will only be 2.1 million people in a country that had 4.3 million in 1989.
Russian aspirations in this corner of Europe are nothing new. In 1918, the young Republic of Moldova joined Romania for a brief interlude. In 1940, the Soviet Union recovered the former Russian imperial possession and kept it until it disintegrated in 1990. Igor Dodon, pro-Russian president of Moldova, used photos of him with Vladimir Putin to win the elections. In a leaked recording, he talks about obtaining (illegal) funding from the Russian party, although he says his words were taken out of context. Last June, however, Dodon teamed up with pro-European Maia Sandu (photo) to rid Moldova of Vlad Plahotniuc, an oligarch who had long dominated the country as chairman of the ruling party in the time. It is now believed that Mr. Plahotniuc fled to Miami.
In November, the hopeful coalition collapsed. Sandu says new government, voted for by Dodon’s socialists and by MPs of the former party of Mr. Plahotniuc, is pro-Russian, but that he will say everything he needs to keep the western countries happy, so that, while Russia calls the shots, the The West continues to provide critical loans. The government came across a dispute over a new attorney general. Sandu says Mr. Dodon told him he didn’t want him to create an independent anti-corruption force that would arrest dirty politicians.
Ms. Sandu is down, but far from out. Vadim Pistrinciuc, analyst and supporter, thinks that she needs fewer “nice and intelligent” people around her and “more fighters”. Russia is flooding the country with fake news and money. Western governments hold sessions on democracy and human rights. “It’s like one side gives boxing lessons while the other gives ballet lessons,” he says. ■
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the title “A Silent Takeover”
