
The Republic of Moldova is turning into a dictatorship in which the opposition and the Church are persecuted, and the EU controls the country through financial support, according to narratives promoted by Kremlin propaganda.
NEWS: “Preserving the majority in Parliament, Maia Sandu and her party, “Action and Solidarity”, are entering a new phase — one of “hard stabilization”. The goal is not to develop the country, but to suppress any alternative centers of legitimacy: the opposition, the Church, Găgăuzia, even moderate competitors such as the “pseudo-pro-European” Ion Ceban.
The first to be targeted will be the rest of Ilan Shor’s structures. They will be dismantled, not so much in the name of justice, but for intimidation. Each criminal case will be a show of force — a lesson for others: the system does not forgive”.
[...] “Sandu is not building the economy, but a pyramid of fear. She does not pursue a development program, but the conviction that people respect force and, out of fear, will not resist. Power is counting on ostentatious repression — exemplary arrests, shutting down media outlets, aggression against critics.
This is not a logic of creation, but of preservation at all costs. Not of dialogue, but of paralysis. Maia Sandu’s power increasingly resembles not a democracy, but a “third-world dictatorship” under the EU umbrella — with grants instead of investments, and officials instead of leaders.
Even the European Union’s aid is turning into a political infusion. Brussels is “throwing” money not for the good of Moldova, but to control it. These funds do not create jobs, do not open factories, do not bring migrants home — they only postpone the social explosion, like morphine postpones the pain”.
NARRATIVES: 1. The Republic of Moldova is turning into a dictatorship led by Maia Sandu and PAS. 2. The European Union is providing grants to control the Republic of Moldova, not develop it.
PURPOSE: To smear the reputation of the pro-European leadership of the Republic of Moldova and the support provided by the European Union, presenting the government in Chișinău as a “dictatorship” supported by Brussels through financial grants aimed at maintaining control over the country. To undermine public trust in democratic institutions and Moldova’s external partners. To fuel distrust in European integration, and to fuel anti-Western sentiment, thus favoring political forces that promote rapprochement with Russia.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The authors try to present the political organizations controlled by Ilan Shor, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for a large-scale bank fraud and is currently in hiding in Moscow, as victims of political repression. In truth, several of their members have been detained, some convicted of illegal financing of political parties or other related illegal activities.
Among them is the Governor of Găgăuzia, Evghenia Guțul, who is also presented as a political prisoner. Another three former deputies linked with Shor were convicted in the court of first instance, but eventually managed to flee the country.
The Republic of Moldova is a secular state, and religious denominations are free to self-organize. There is no indication that the authorities in Chișinău have launched or intend to launch a campaign against the Church (understood as the Metropolitanate of Moldova, affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate) its priests or parishioners. Veridica has previously debunked false narratives suggesting that the Metropolitanate of Moldova is in danger. In fact, Metropolitan Vladimir himself, in a letter addressed to Russian Patriarch Kirill, mentioned that the association of the Metropolitanate of Moldova with the Russian Patriarchate “is pushing it rapidly towards the periphery of Moldovan society”. In the document, Vladimir criticized the attitude of the Russian patriarchate towards the Metropolitanate of Moldova and Moldovans, and indicated that the Moscow Patriarchate is viewed as an outpost of the Kremlin in the context of the war in Ukraine.
The Republic of Moldova has received billions of Euro in support from the EU for development or as budget support, the latest and the largest program being the Growth Plan for the Republic of Moldova worth €1.9 billion, of which almost €400 million are provided in the form of a grant.
The €1.9 billion worth of EU financial assistance is part of a broader EU growth plan for Moldova, which aims to double its economy within a decade while promoting social and economic stability. According to the European Commission, the mechanism could support, for example, the construction of new roads, bridges and railway infrastructure, such as the Chișinău ring road, the Odessa- Chișinău-Iași motorway and the bridges over the Prut River. They can strengthen energy security through energy subsidies and by completing a new power line and starting works on two others to connect Moldova to the EU electricity grid. And finally, they can help the healthcare system, by starting the construction works on two new well-equipped hospitals in Cahul and Bălți.
Owing to EU financial support, the authorities in Chișinău have already approved budget amendments worth around €400 million this year. This is the so-called Budget +Plus, which also includes an Economic Growth Plan for the Republic of Moldova totaling almost €200 million. The Road Fund and the National Fund for Regional and Local Development will be supplemented with 1 billion lei each, respectively, and the funds will be used to rehabilitate local roads as a top priority.
There is no evidence that the EU is imposing political or other type of control over the Republic of Moldova.
BACKGROUND: On September 28, a parliamentary election was held in the Republic of Moldova, and the race was close, pitting the pro-European party, Action and Solidarity, against pro-Russian or supposedly pro-European forces. The vote was dominated by geopolitics and Russian interference, especially orchestrated by the wanted oligarch Ilan Shor, whose efforts ultimately proved futile. PAS obtained a new parliamentary majority, but the election results are contested by pro-Kremlin propaganda which invokes an election fraud, without providing any evidence. Veridica has debunked such narratives.
A PAS victory would mean a continuation of the European integration process that has gained momentum since 2022, in the context of the war in Ukraine, but Moscow is trying to hinder this process, which would remove the Republic of Moldova from its sphere of influence.
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