Governments in ex-Soviet states have a strategy of demonizing Russia and promoting Russophobia, and Maia Sandu's recent visit to Vilnius fits into this context, according to Russian propaganda. Maia Sandu actually went to Vilnius to mark the anniversary of Lithuania's independence.
NEWS: The official visit of the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, to Lithuania could take place within the framework of a broader strategy of the governments with a Russophobic orientation in the post-Soviet states, aimed at demonizing Russia and the USSR. This opinion was expressed for TASS by the director of the Russian-Moldovan Center for Friendship and Cooperation, Dmitry Sorokin.
As the expert noted, on March 10–11, 2026, Sandu will pay a visit to the Republic of Lithuania, at the invitation of President Gitanas Nausėda, on the occasion of the 36th anniversary of the restoration of Lithuanian statehood.
"It should be emphasized that Lithuania and Moldova demonstrate a high level of solidarity in the context of condemning the Russian Federation and supporting a course of re-evaluation of the historical legacy of the Soviet Union. Maia Sandu's visit to Lithuania can be interpreted as part of a broader strategy, aimed at demonizing the image of Russia and the USSR," he said.
In addition, Sorokin noted that the periodic statements of the Lithuanian and Moldovan governments in office regarding the “Soviet occupation” cannot be considered indisputable. “During the Soviet period, both countries demonstrated significant achievements in the economic and social spheres, which is confirmed by the results of numerous historical studies,” he explained.
NARRATIVE: Maia Sandu's visit to Lithuania is proof of Russophobia, intensively promoted in post-Soviet states.
PURPOSE: First of all, to present the government of the Republic of Moldova, but also those of other states bordering Russia, as Russophobic, in order to maintain a state of fear among the population of Russia, by promoting the narrative about "external enemies", including to justify the war in Ukraine and, possibly, other military interventions.
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: Maia Sandu paid an official visit to Vilnius, at the invitation of the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, on the occasion of the 36th anniversary of the restoration of Lithuania’s independence from the Soviet Union, proclaimed on March 11, 1990 — an act that Moldova (then still a Soviet republic) was the first country to recognize. The visit therefore had a symbolic character, linked to the anniversary of the proclamation of the host country’s independence.
Maia Sandu also gave a speech in the Lithuanian Parliament, in which she emphasized Moldovan citizens’ desire to become part of the EU, but, among other things, condemned Russia's military aggression in Ukraine, as well as its hybrid war, including in the Republic of Moldova. "I have seen firsthand how Russia uses historical revisionism as a weapon. It rewrites history before repeating the crime. (...) You understand, as we do, that Russia's aggression against Ukraine is accompanied by systematic manipulation of information and historical revisionism. You understand that impunity does not end conflicts — it provokes new ones." However, these statements are not evidence of Russophobia but of condemnation of the Russian aggression in Ukraine and, in the form of hybrid war, in other states.
Furthermore, the presence of Maia Sandu in Vilnius, that is, of a single official of this level, is in no way evidence of a regional Russophobic policy.
The narrative about the "beneficial" role of the USSR on the development of the “sister republics” is one often used by Russian propaganda, which is however countered by their poor level of development compared to other European countries, demonstrated with the collapse of the former Soviet Union. In addition, the Kremlin propaganda passes over in silence, or tries to disavow, nefarious events or even crimes such as dividing Poland with Hitlerite Germany in 1939, the waves of deportations, or organized famine.
CONTEXT/LOCAL ETHOS: Claims about the so-called Russophobia that Chisinau is allegedly promoting have become one of the favorite topics of Kremlin propaganda, especially after the start of the war in Ukraine. They aim, on the one hand, to maintain fear in Russian society and justify military aggression, and on the other hand to maintain a divided society in neighboring countries, especially in the former USSR, where significant Russian-speaking communities live. Veridica has previously debunked such narratives.
GRAIN OF TRUTH: Maia Sandu paid an official visit to Vilnius, at the invitation of the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, on the occasion of the 36th anniversary of the restoration of Lithuania's independence from the Soviet Union.
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