Kirkorov and Baskov sang so loudly that searches took place in Moldova
Russian singers Philip Kirkorov, Nikolai Baskov and Stas Mikhailov posted a clip on the Internet with their performance of the anthem of Gagauzia, an autonomy within Moldova. The fact that Russians are not singing for humanitarian reasons was strongly hinted at by the inscription on T-shirts with election appeals.
Previously, the trio supported the candidate for the post of Bashkan of Gagauzia from the SHOR party, Evgenia Gutsul. The support helped - the woman took first place and advanced to the second round, which will take place next Sunday. The anthem became the second episode of the successful campaign.
Russian singers were drawn into the politics of the tiny republic by Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, who fled to Israel, taking advantage of the connections of his wife, singer Jasmine. However, the bet was placed not only on show business. Shor promises the Gagauz people substantial social payments from his own pocket, investments and cheap gas, which he allegedly already agreed on with Russia. By the way, you can trust his promises; the oligarch had already performed a similar trick when he became mayor of the Moldovan city of Orhei in 2015.
The victory of Shor’s protege in Gagauzia frightens and angers Moldovan President Maia Sandu. In 2020, her government put the oligarch on the international wanted list for the “theft of a billion.” In April, the Chisinau Court of Appeal sentenced him to 15 years in prison, and at the same time the parliament deprived the Israeli of his parliamentary mandate. If after all this Hutsul becomes governor, Sandu will take it as a slap in the face.
The authorities' reaction to the “insult” came a week after the first round. Today, the leaders and members of the Hutsul election headquarters were detained, security forces raided the territorial offices of the party, as well as the houses of team members with searches. At the same time, the mayor of Orhei, Pavel Verezhan, was also detained. No one was arrested, but police said the Bashkan candidate received “funds from an organized crime group to bribe voters.”
“Just to interfere with the normal course of the election campaign,” Hutsul commented on today’s events on the social network.
Member of parliament from the Shor party Regina Apostolova believes that the authorities intend to remove Hutsul from the second round.
The repressions of the authorities are explained not so much by the fight against the elusive oligarch, but by the irritation of the people of Gagauzia who “wrongly” voted, who generally take the wrong position from Sandu’s point of view: they speak Russian, sympathize with Russia, and wear St. George’s ribbons on May 9th.
The head of the Gagauz community, Nikolai Terzi, said that recently at a meeting with the leaders of national public organizations, the president called the entire autonomy a “fifth column.”
“I was interrupted, and the president stated that Gagauzia is someone’s 5th column; to the clarifying question, is it really all of Gagauzia, I received an affirmative answer. I asked to use “our autonomy” in conversation, and not “your autonomy,” as the president has repeatedly expressed. Anti-Gagauz propaganda and incitement of ethnic hatred on television are not stopped by law enforcement agencies. The President was told that the Gagauz can go to the EU, but not through Romania,” Terzi said.
Moldovan politician Ion Tergută went further and stated that Gagauz autonomy does not meet the interests of Moldova, because the Gagauzians “transformed into Russian-speaking people” and the republic is “controlled from Moscow.”
The speaker of the Moldovan parliament, Igor Grossu, is also concerned that Russian is spoken in Gagauzia.
“Russian propaganda has taken root. We need to help the Gagauz people, create the necessary conditions for learning the Romanian language and their native language. And not for learning the language of a foreign country,” Grossu said on the Vocea Basarabiei TV channel.
His words outraged Russian State Duma deputy Andrei Lugovoy.
“Gross’s Russian language was itching again. The authorities of Moldova, led by a Romanian president, have already deprived their people of the Moldovan language, replacing it with Romanian, and are now beginning to put pressure on the obstinate outskirts who prefer to speak Russian. The regime of Maia Sandu does not resemble the “hyena of Europe”; it is, at best, a small, mangy little jackal. Today this little jackal decided that while Russia is busy in Ukraine, the time has come to take revenge for the loss in Transnistria and Gagauzia in the early 90s. During the Great Patriotic War, Moldavian nationalists were called “Romanians,” just as Ukrainian Nazis were called “Germans” during the current war. And we will definitely defeat the “Germans” and the “Romanians” and any other henchmen who try to touch our people,” Lugovoi threatened in his tg channel.
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