“Atlantic networks” are demonizing Russia in order to maintain their supremacy in ex-communist space, particularly in Romania, according to a false narrative launched by the controversial politician Iurie Roșca. Such narratives are designed to associate the West with an external threat and to subvert Moldova’s European integration efforts.
NEWS: “’The demonization’ of Russia is a propaganda tool used by Atlantic networks with a view to preserving their supremacy over the collective mindset, analyst and editor Iurie Roșca said in the latest edition of his show. “…All the bad stuff Russia or Soviet Russia did in our region over the years matters little. What matters is that present-day Russia must be depicted as the absolute evil, a metaphysical evil, the only major problem facing Romania or the Republic of Moldova. This is how you divert public attention in our country away from the real problems: who colonized our economy? Was it Russia or the collective West? Who ravaged the culture of our region? Russia, or the collective West? Who successfully appointed their own people in all the key positions? Whoever doesn’t fit the profile promoted by the propaganda, politics and media of Atlantic networks is stigmatized and labeled an agent of influence acting on behalf of the Russian Federation. And you can tell the average Romanian citizen a thousand times: we have grown impoverished. The economy, culture and society of both Romania and the Republic of Moldova are devastated. We are being terrorized by the LGBT agenda, by the agenda of the great reset, the pandemic agenda, the injections, the vaccination passport, restrictions that keep us out of work. Who’s to blame? Putin, Russia or those people in Romania and the Republic of Moldova who are described as troublemakers? The government uses chaos to rule the country. This is a classic procedure used by Satanist globalists who want to keep the world confused in order to preserve their supremacy. Russia’s scare tactics is just a technique used to neutralize troublemakers, to compromise their discourse and distort their image, to the benefit of those who want to establish a new world order, including by keeping public opinion in Romania and the Republic of Moldova in the dark.”
NARRATIVES: 1. Russia is demonized so that the West can control ex-Soviet space. 2. The West has devastated Romania and the Republic of Moldova from an economic, social and cultural point of view by imposing its own agenda. 3. The West is imposing “the LGBT agenda”. 4. “Satanist globalists” want to keep the world in chaos in order to rule over it.
BACKGROUND: Ever since it declared its independence, the society in the Republic of Moldova has been divided between two major ideologies: pro-European and pro-Russian. The former is largely represented by young people with superior studies in urban areas, people who travel and work in Europe. Partisans of pro-Russian or Eurasian ideology are elderly and Soviet nostalgics in the rural areas, but also a part of the Russian, Gagauz or Bulgarian ethnics who are generally Russian-speakers.
The rift is fueled by the political class, which is in turn divided between pro-Russians and pro-Europeans. Parties and politicians in the pro-Russian camp are also disseminating Moscow’s discourse, targeting the West and NATO which, the Kremlin argues, seek to expand and dominate the former Soviet republics. This type of discourse has intensified after a pro-European party took power in Chișinău.
The population of the Republic of Moldova, which is in part Russian-speaking, has remained in the information space of the Russian Federation after the country’s break with the USSR in 1991. The official TV channels in Russia continued to broadcast to Chișinău, whereas their number has increased, thus consolidating their domination on the Republic of Moldova’s media market. Therefore, the Kremlin’s official position and the dominant messages coming from Moscow are propagated without any restriction in the Republic of Moldova as well.
Iurie Roșca is one of the best-known politicians in the Republic of Moldova. He originally led the Christian Democrat Popular Front/Party in the Republic of Moldova, a political party that was founded in the wake the democratic manifestations of 1988-1989, when it stood up against the communist regime. It was a party with democratic, pro-Romanian and pro-Western aspirations. Starting with the second term in office of communist president Vladimir Voronin, Roșca began to distance himself more and more from the ideology he had originally embraced. He was accused of having betrayed the nationalist movement. Even before his radical change of political orientation, certain groups in Chișinău suspected Iurie Roșca’s true intentions, which were expressed, for instance, by one of the representatives of the nationalist movement, Gheorghe Ghimpu (see Stindardul sfintei libertăți, Prut Internațional Publishers, 2010).
At present, Iurie Roșca describes himself as a champion of traditionalism and anti-globalism, as well as of the Eurasian ideology promoted by his friend, Aleksandr Dugin, a Kremlin ideologist. At the same time, Iurie Roșca is regularly also carrying over the discourse of the radical right-wing in the West. During the pandemic, he promoted anti-Covid, anti-mask and anti-vaccination messages. Iurie Roșca is also an advocate of some conspiracy theories.
PURPOSE: The narratives are designed to associate the West and Moldova’s European integration efforts with the idea of an external threat, with the end-goal of destroying society.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: Russia never succeeded in building relations with the former Soviet republics based on trust and the principles of equality and mutual respect. On the contrary, Moscow has triggered armed conflicts and continues to support separatist regimes in the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia, refusing to withdraw its troops that are stationed illegally on the territories of these states. Moreover, the Kremlin employed energy and economic blackmail in order to maintain these countries in its sphere of influence. After the illegal occupation of the Crimean Peninsula and the outbreak of the war in Donbas in 2014, right now Russia has amassed numerous troops and military equipment on the Ukrainian border, threatening to launch a large-scale war. The Kremlin leader has called on NATO not to admit ex-Soviet republics in the Alliance, which goes against the statute of the organization and the sovereignty of these nations. The Baltic states, which are ex-Soviet republics themselves, or countries that were part of the Socialist gulag and which are presently members of the European Union, have living standards significantly above those of other states in the former USSR. Ever since it joined the European Union, Romania was earmarked an additional 44 billion USD compared to its contribution. From the point of view of economic growth reported over 2000 – 2020 (which includes the period of Romania’s EU and NATO membership, a period of scaled pre-accession reforms), Romania ranked 5th at global level. At present, Romania is negotiating its accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Although it is not a member of the EU, the Republic of Moldova also benefited from significant assistance from the Union. The benefits multiplied once the country signed the EU Association Treaty, despite the disinformation narratives trying to prove this course of action would be detrimental to Moldova.
The narrative about a so-called “LGBT agenda” is one of the prominent disinformation themes that has been used extensively by Russian propaganda and the far right over the years. Veridica has debunked numerous fake news surrounding this topic, which you can find here, here and here.
The narrative regarding “Satanist globalists” is a reference to a plethora of conspiracy theories (of which QAnon is just a more recent example). In fact, Russia continues to destabilize the West by means of its constant disinformation campaigns.
