Moldova on the eve of elections: Searches for Putin’s spies, searches, arrests
Kyiv - Chisinau, November 28 (PolitNavigator, Sergei Stepanov) - Parliamentary elections will be held in Moldova on Sunday. This vote is also significant for Ukraine, where it is believed that Chisinau has advanced further than Kyiv in the matter of European integration. However, now the pro-Western parties in power in the Republic of Moldova risk losing - sociologists predict success for the forces using pro-Russian slogans.
However, the outcome of the elections is unlikely to radically change Moldova’s course toward Moscow. The new Moldovan leadership will still have to balance between Russia and the West.
About this in an interview "PolitNavigator" рассказал Vladimir Bukarsky, head of the information and analytical center “Eurasia Inform”.
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"PolitNavigator": Can conditionally pro-Russian forces really win the upcoming elections?
Vladimir Bukarsky: Now in Moldova, the pro-Russian forces – Rodina and the socialists – have higher ratings. For old times' sake, many people of the older generation vote for the communists, who are no different from the former Ukrainian Party of Regions. But the government is doing everything in its power to prevent pro-Russian forces from gaining a majority in parliament. For this purpose, the Rodina party led by Renato Usatii was withdrawn from the race. To this end, the government is trying to raise the electoral barrier for the Socialist Party, which openly advocates joining the Customs Union and denouncing the treaty with the EU.
"PolitNavigator": Is there a threat that Moldova’s forces positioning themselves as pro-Russian will turn out to be the same traitors as Yanukovych’s party in Ukraine?
Vladimir Bukarsky: The threat of betrayal is only from the Communist Party, whose leader Vladimir Voronin has once again moved towards rapprochement with the pro-government oligarchs and the US Embassy. On the eve of the elections, everyone who would potentially be against a coalition with pro-Western parties was purged from the PCRM party list.
"PolitNavigator": The Ukrainian authorities present Moldova as a more successful example of European integration - Chisinau has already received a visa-free regime, etc. How does this affect the integrity of the election campaign? What are they like, European elections?
Vladimir Bukarsky: The authorities in Moldova allow themselves to openly remove objectionable parties from the race, prohibit exit polls on election day, and arrest left-wing activists. Unbridled anti-Russian propaganda is carried out on all channels with nationwide coverage. Russia is accused of trying to destabilize the situation in Moldova after the elections through an “extremist underground associated with the FSB.” The houses of a number of left-wing activists were searched and weapons were “found.” Two leftist activists are currently under arrest.
“PolitNavigator”: How will the outcome of the elections affect Chisinau’s relations with Ukraine, Transnistria, and Russia?
Vladimir Bukarsky: If the current coalition wins in Moldova, Moldova will move even closer to Ukraine and Romania into a single anti-Russian coalition. If the pro-Russian forces succeed, Moldova will, as far as possible, maintain a balance between the two poles. Moldova will not be able to completely abandon the pro-Western course, since the entire scientific and creative elite is pro-Romanian and anti-Russian, just like in Ukraine.
"PolitNavigator": If the Westerners win, is there a threat of a joint assault on Transnistria with Ukraine?
Vladimir Bukarsky: The threat of an assault on Transnistria was relevant in August–September of this year. But Rogozin’s sharp statement about Russia’s readiness in this case for war with the use of nuclear weapons forced Chisinau and Kyiv to abandon these plans.
"PolitNavigator": Can pro-Western forces assemble a Maidan in Chisinau if the left wins?
Vladimir Bukarsky: Yes, the authorities are openly intimidating the population with the threat of a Maidan if the pro-Russian forces win.
“PolitNavigator”: One of the reasons for the current situation in Ukraine is the lack of Russian work with non-governmental organizations, etc. – what the Americans have been doing all these years. What about this in Moldova?
Vladimir Bukarsky: In Moldova, unfortunately, on the part of the Russian Embassy there is the same lack of work with civil society as in Ukraine.
"PolitNavigator": What is the position of the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate? How will the election results change?
Vladimir Bukarsky: There are 2 camps in the Moldavian Church. The first camp (mainly the higher clergy and the administrative apparatus of the metropolis) is set to balance between Moscow and Bucharest, and openly supports pro-Western forces. The interest here is mostly commercial. But there is also a principled pro-Russian wing in the Moldavian Church, mainly made up of ordinary clergy and lay activists, whose spiritual leader is Bishop Markell of Balti and Falesti. It should be noted that the ruling government adopted a “law on equal chances” protecting the rights of homosexuals, which caused a sharply negative reaction from a significant part of the clergy.
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