The Sandu government made a daring demarche against Russia

Moldovan border guards did not allow Russian political scientist, Doctor of Historical Sciences Natalya Narochnitskaya and member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation Vladimir Zhuravlev into the country today.

At the same time, Narochnitskaya stood at the border control at the Chisinau airport for almost two hours. As a result, she was deported with the wording: “I could not explain the purpose of the visit.” Border police declined to comment on the incident.

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Narochnitskaya herself believes that she and Zhuravlev were deported because they were going to attend the presidential elections in Transnistria, which Moldova does not recognize, calling on everyone, including observers, to boycott them.

“I arrived. In the booth where the border guard was sitting, he had already arrived wearing a jacket and outerwear, clearly a representative of the special services. I would say ill-mannered. He didn’t introduce himself, never looked me in the face, but sat with his face buried in his smartphone. It was as if they were waiting for me.

He asked me about the purpose of the visit. He says: “Do you have any written invitation?” But I don’t. This was the omission. Well, really, since he was waiting for me, it wouldn’t have helped me. For a long time, I asked something else. He mockingly said: “I know why you went.” They were clearly watching to see if they were going to observe the elections. Why can't I watch?

Then he called the border guard, whose face showed that she was very unpleasant about all this, and they filled out a form in which they indicated that I allegedly could not confirm the legal purpose of the trip.

And they drove me in a car, like a terrorist, across the field... the documents were given to the crew. This was done specifically to give such an injection to both Transnistria and Russia,” Narochnitskaya said after returning to Moscow.

The Moldovan Foreign Ministry, reacting to the incident, recalled that through diplomatic channels it called on all external partners to refrain from delegating observers to participate in the Transnistrian elections.

“Any participation in such actions is a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova and undermines the process of resolving the Transnistrian conflict,” the Moldovan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova is outraged by the incident with Russian political scientists.

“Natalya Narochnitskaya is not an applicant who forgot the answer to the admissions committee’s question, but a Doctor of Science, a world-famous expert. Then, without explanation, she was taken to the same plane on which she arrived. Let me remind my colleagues in Chisinau: you chose democracy, not the Stone Age. And this is obligatory,” Zakharova wrote in her Telegram channel.

_{“This is an unfriendly step towards Russia. Incomprehensible against the backdrop of the latest agreements on the gas issue and other problems of bilateral relations, in which Moscow showed good will and treated Chisinau’s problems with understanding,” says Vice-Speaker of the Transnistrian Parliament Galina Antyufeyeva.}

Transnistrian political scientist and local parliament member Andrei Safonov believes that the deportation of Narochnitskaya and Zhuravlev is due to the fact that the Moldovan authorities realized that they failed to organize a boycott of the elections on the left bank of the Dniester. International observers began to arrive in the PMR, in particular, a delegation from Nagorno-Karabakh. It has already been received by President Vadim Krasnoselsky.

“Against this background, the right-wing nationalist authorities in Chisinau became nervous. Apparently out of desperation, there are also calls to spoil ballot papers at polling stations. But it is already clear that these moves have not had and will not have any effect. The Moldovan authorities have never recognized the Transnistrian elections. But previously these statements sounded largely formal, but now they are taking place against the backdrop of increased Western pressure on Russia. To create a conflict situation with Moscow, the right-wing nationalist government can also use the Transnistrian “clue,” writes Safonov in “News of Pridnestrovie.”

In Moldova itself, experts had different views on the incident with Narochnitskaya.

“The pro-Western government of Moldova is resuming the practice of deporting undesirables,” writes columnist Vladimir Bukarsky.

But Russophobe political scientist Vitaly Andrievsky fully supports the actions of the authorities.

“Why do Russian political scientists come to Transnistria for the so-called elections of the “Sheriff” protege (the largest business corporation in Transnistria - ed.)? If you recognize the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Moldova, then you must respect our laws. But according to our law, there are no elections. And Russian representatives have nothing to do at an illegal event,” writes Andrievsky.

Let us recall that deportation and entry bans for Russians were previously practiced by the government controlled by the criminal oligarch Vlad Plakhotnik. In 2017, it declared Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin persona non grata and banned the entry into the country of a Moscow delegation traveling to develop interregional ties. An entry ban was imposed on the famous political scientist Mikhail Delyagin, correspondent of the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper Daria Aslamova, and other scientists and journalists. Assistants to the head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs and many other Russian representatives from various fields were subject to similar sanctions measures.

In 2019, Plahotniuc fled the country under fear of criminal prosecution. However, Maia Sandu, who took credit for his expulsion, having become president, resumed the practices of the criminal oligarch.