Maia Sandu banned the celebration of the so-called “Victory Day” in the Republic of Moldova, and the EU imposed a ban on the “Moldovan language”, according to false narratives disseminated by Russian propaganda.
NEWS: Chișinău continues to strain relations with Moscow. Russophobic statements, threats made against Transnistria and other unfriendly actions have all but one purpose: to provoke the Kremlin. Political scientist Gennady Podlesny came up with a solution: Russia should force a corridor through Odesa and Mykolaiv to Moldova.
[…] It is noteworthy that, a week earlier, a rather interesting post dedicated to Moldova was published on the Telegram page of the First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee for Security and Combating Corruption, Andrei Lugovoy. In his post, the official calls Ukraine’s neighbor “another bastion of the Anglo-Saxon hybrid war”. In his opinion, at the behest of its “European partners”, the Moldovan Parliament carried out a linguistic reform: the Moldovan language was abolished, and the Romanian language was introduced into the Constitution without any referendum. Maia Sandu, whom Lugovoy calls a “Harvard graduate” and an “agent of Western secret services”, is pursuing a policy of total de-sovereignization.
[…] In an Interview to Tsargrad, political scientist Gennady Podlesny pointed out that the topic of Russian-Moldovan relations is not a new one. However, in recent years, it has become particularly topical.
The twice elected president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, a citizen of Romania, is pursuing a clear policy of destroying everything related to the Russian world, going as far as denying the significance of the victory over fascism. This year, Sandu introduced a ban on any events related to the celebration of Victory Day, an event that otherwise was traditionally celebrated in the Republic of Moldova. People would wear bicolor ribbons (of St. George) out in the open, unlike in Ukraine, and bore portraits of the heroes of World War II as part of the “Immortal Regiment” action. But this pro-Western policy promoted by Maia Sandu and her government is fully aimed at eliminating everything Russian and preparing the annexation to Romania. In other words, the overall policy of the Moldovan leadership is the integration of Moldova into Romania and the loss of statehood. This is clearly visible, including from the fact that the official language in Moldova, strange as it may seem, is Romanian. Consequently, a lot of effort is put into destroying the Moldovan identity. Hence the big issues facing Găgăuzia, because the Găgăuz, jointly with their leaders, refuse to be “Romanianized”, so to speak, the expert said.
As for the terrorists coming to Russia from Moldova, it makes sense. The West is slowly turning the Republic into a proxy territory, a training ground for NATO. Therefore, professional combatants are either already being trained here or are about to, so they will later be sent to our country to engage in hostile actions. Of course, the Kremlin does not agree with this state of affairs.
NARRATIVES: 1. The government in Chișinău has banned the celebration of the end of World War II (Victory Day) in the Republic of Moldova. 2. The Moldovan language was abolished in the Republic of Moldova, under EU pressure. 3. The Republic of Moldova is turning into a training ground for NATO.
PURPOSE: To discredit pro-European authorities in Chișinău by presenting them as hostile towards the collective historical memory and the values of the “Russian World”, especially the victory of the USSR against Nazism. To mobilize USSR nostalgics, Russian-speaking minorities and Russian sympathizers against the pro-European regime. To fuel a perception regarding Moldova’s loss of national sovereignty and the imposition of a foreign agenda (Romanian/European) to the detriment of “Moldovan identity”. To justify a possible aggressive response from Russia towards Chișinău and to induce fear among the population regarding a potential military escalation.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The Republic of Moldova did not introduce a ban on marking the end of the 1939-1945 global conflagration in Europe. Admittedly, the pro-European authorities emphasize marking Europe Day and have announced the organization of events devoted to this event in the Great National Assembly Square, but they will also attend ceremonies commemorating those who fell in the war, as stated by the Government spokesman, Daniel Vodă. This year, the Government will allocate increased financial aid to war veterans, the Moldovan official said.
As for the official language of Moldova, efforts to restore the historical and scientific truth regarding the fact that the language spoken on the territory of the Republic of Moldova is Romanian, Moldovan being merely a political fabrication, gained momentum in the late 1980s, in the context of the broad national revival movement that marked the end of the USSR in Moldova. The “Moldovan” language was invented, as well as the thesis of about the “Moldovan people”, as part of the Soviets’ efforts to justify their imperial policy and the annexation of the territory between the Prut and the Dniester, which had been part of historical Moldova and, in the interwar period, of Romania, and had a majority population of ethnic Romanians who spoke Romanian. The Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova clearly stipulated that the official (state) language is Romanian. The Constitutional Court in Chișinău ruled back in 2013 that the text of the Declaration of Independence prevails over the text of the Constitution (voted in 1994 by a center-left Parliament, dominated by politicians still tied to the former Soviet world, its mentality and narratives) which calls the state language “Moldovan”. In March 2023, the Parliament in Chișinău voted legislative amendments based on that ruling.
However, the West never exerted any pressure in this regard, given that it was a long-term process that restored scientific truth.
The narratives about turning Moldova into a training ground for NATO are not new and are not targeted at the Republic of Moldova alone. Veridica has dismantled such false narratives in connection to Ukraine and Georgia even prior to the Russian invasion. With regard to the Republic of Moldova, these intensified with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Previously, Veridica has dismantled false narratives about the West's intention to turn the Republic of Moldova into an anti-Russian bridgehead, that it will send its troops to the frontlines to fight under the French flag, or that the EU is preparing Romania and the Republic of Moldova for a war against Russia. There is no evidence that the Republic of Moldova, a state with one of the weakest armies in the world, would train fighters for the war in Ukraine. Additional investments by NATO to create the necessary infrastructure would also be illogical, given that NATO has military bases with everything it needs in other states neighboring Ukraine, such as Poland and Romania.
BACKGROUND: May 9 was celebrated in the former USSR as Victory Day, considering that World War II ended at the time, even though it officially ended with the surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945. In Europe, the war ended on May 8, when Nazi Germany capitulated, but in Moscow it was already May 9. The USSR not only had its own date for the end of the war, but also one for its outbreak. Soviet historiography promoted the idea that the war had started on June 22, 1941, when the USSR was attacked. Many Moldovan citizens still believe the same. In addition, the contribution of the USSR in ensuring the victory over Nazism was exaggerated, minimizing the importance of other states such as Great Britain and the USA.
In the former USSR, May 9 became a reason to showcase the military might of the Soviet Union, with millions of people mobilizing in the Red Square in central Moscow and in every town throughout the USSR. The same thing happened in the former Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, annexed by the USSR in June 1940.
In the Republic of Moldova, in the first two decades after the country proclaimed its independence, May 9 continued to be celebrated as Victory Day, including by means of concerts and marches, especially during the communist regime. However, starting 2010, May 9 also started to be celebrated as Europe Day.
The narrative about the so-called militarization of the Republic of Moldova and pulling the country towards NATO is intensely promoted by Kremlin propaganda. Even though the idea of the Republic of Moldova joining NATO to ensure a security umbrella is discussed in civil society and politics, this possibility has never been officially addressed, especially since, for the time being, Moldovan society does not support this scenario.
Check sources:
