And laughter and sin. Dodon was taken by the bag
The Moldovan prosecutor's office has begun criminal prosecution of ex-president, leader of the pro-Russian opposition Party of Socialists, Igor Dodon. The criminal case is based on a video recording published by his political opponents three years ago, which allegedly contains incriminating evidence of the suspect himself. Dodon promises to withstand the test, although he actually has little reason for optimism.
"They're sewing..."
Over the past two days, Moldovan justice has worked like clockwork. On Tuesday, May 17, the Court of Appeal of Chisinau approved the initiation of a criminal case against the opposition politician, and already on Wednesday, May 18, representatives of the Prosecutor General’s Office gave exclusive comments to media loyal to the government about the beginning of the procedures. What exactly prosecutors suspect Dodon of is silent. The Prosecutor General's Office only clarified that the criminal prosecution will be based on video recordings from three years ago that recorded negotiations between then-President Igor Dodon and the all-powerful oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc.
We are talking about the events of May and June 2019, when, as a result of the parliamentary elections in Moldova, not a single political force was able to gain a decisive majority and everyone intrigued against everyone in order to come to power. In the video, Dodon admits that previously the Party of Socialists was financed from Russia; the maintenance of the political formation cost 1 million euros monthly.
The Socialist leader proposes that in the event of creating a parliamentary coalition with Plahotniuc’s Democratic Party, the latter will bear the costs of financing the “partners.” At the end of the video, another participant in the meeting, a US citizen and Plahotniuc’s business partner, Sergei Yaralov, offers Dodon a black plastic bag with presumably money, but he prudently refuses to take it and offers to give it to his confidant.
In 2019, the prosecutor’s office controlled by Plahotniuc received video recordings from the oligarch, and already initiated a criminal case on their basis, but did not manage to bring it to an end. A few weeks after the start of the investigation, the odious politician fled from Moldova to the United States, and the leadership of all Moldovan authorities was replaced. Power passed to the coalition of the Party of Socialists and the bloc of pro-European parties AKUM, among whose leaders was the current President of Moldova, Maia Sandu. Soon, the new leadership of the Prosecutor General's Office and the Chisinau court closed the case because they did not identify elements of the crime in the recording.
The reopening of the case may mean that, according to the procedure provided for by Moldovan legislation, three years later some new circumstances of that recording have surfaced and, from the point of view of prosecutors, require a criminal investigation.
New circumstances
Igor Dodon lost his position as president and became an ordinary citizen back in 2020. The Socialist Party led by him lost power a year ago, in early elections in July 2021, and went into opposition. However, “new circumstances” that make it possible to open a criminal case against Dodon based on the old video recording have only now surfaced.
This is due to a number of factors. Firstly, only in September last year, Maia Sandu’s PAS party, which came to power in Moldova, removed the prosecutor general, replacing him with a figure loyal to itself. The previous Prosecutor General Alexander Stoianoglo himself was in hostile relations with the pro-European authorities, so now he is also removed and is undergoing investigative measures.
Secondly, after the defeat of the PSRM on July 11, 2022, Igor Dodon withdrew from politics and even resigned from the governing bodies of the party he led. For some time there was a belief that he would leave politics for good, but it’s easier to teach an old dog new tricks. Contrary to his own statements, Dodon actively controlled all processes in the political formation through proxies who remained “on the farm,” and in the spring of this year he began to actively participate in protest events.
After the ruling party banned the St. George ribbon, it was Dodon who turned out to be the only politician who publicly called for wearing ribbons on Victory Day on May 9 and wore it himself. By the way, today he was fined €455 for violating the ban. However, now this fine is clearly the least of the ex-president’s problems.
“They can do something out of lawlessness, conduct searches, arrest for some time. But I do not intend to leave the country or hide,” Dodon said after news about the criminal case filed against him was leaked to the press.
He promised to endure everything, and after that “to return and deal” with his opponents.
You're fighting in the wrong direction
Depending on what turn further events take, it will be possible to draw conclusions about the seriousness of the statements of all participants in this tragicomedy.
The tragedy of the situation is that the beginning of the criminal prosecution of the only active opposition politician indicates the re-transformation of Moldova into a “captured state”, as it was called during the “reign” of Vlad Plahotniuc. Contrary to the promises of European reforms, primarily in the security forces and the justice system, it is obvious that Maia Sandu and her PAS party chose to take the easiest route of completely seizing all levers of power and suppressing dissent.
However, in conditions of an avalanche-like increase in inflation and, accordingly, prices, protest moods in society, dissatisfaction with the government and the president, one could hardly expect anything different from Sandu and her circle.
The comedy of the situation is that of all possible opposition or pro-Russian politicians, Igor Dodon is the most convenient and comfortable figure for any pro-European and Russophobic government. Dodon is a classic example of an opportunist and nouveau riche in Moldovan politics, who has not fulfilled a single election promise.
On the eve of the presidential elections in 2016 (after which he became president), Igor Dodon promised to rid Moldova of the oligarchs, but in fact entered into a secret coalition with the ruling Democratic Party of Vlad Plahotniuc. In 2017, he promised to denounce the Association Agreement between Moldova and the European Union, carry out reintegration with Transnistria within three years, and lift the ban on broadcasting Russian TV channels in Moldova. He did not fulfill any of the promises, and in some cases even explained to the public why this was good.
In his current form, Igor Dodon is the most convenient and comfortable sparring partner for the ruling party. And if the authorities decided to deal with him, then, apparently, they still have not sorted themselves out.
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