Renato Usatyi’s “Patria” party, a Russian entry in Moldova’s political arena (see EDM, December 3, 4), propagated three messages in this campaign: 1) against the European Union, and for the Russia-led Customs Union/Eurasian Union; 2) against the Moldovan Communist Party’s leadership under Vladimir Voronin, so... MORE

The Democratic Party of billionaire Vlad Plahotniuc is the second-largest in the tripartite Pro-Europe Coalition (PEC). The November 30 elections saw the Democratic Party advance to 16 percent of the votes cast, and 23 parliamentary seats (up from 12.5 percent and 19 parliamentary seats in... MORE

Moldova’s Pro-Europe Coalition should be able to continue governing after the November 30 parliamentary elections (see EDM, December 2, 3, 4). The coalition’s three parties—each running separately—garnered a combined 46 percent of the votes cast (down from 52 percent at the preceding elections in 2010).... MORE

Lacking mainstream political partners in Europe’s East, the Kremlin has recently picked the small, far-left Party of Socialists to advance Russia’s objectives in Moldova. The main objective is to undermine the pro-Western leadership team in Moldova, the European Union’s closest partner in the region. The... MORE

Moldova’s small Party of Socialists, pro-Kremlin and pro-Eurasia, has suddenly become Moldova’s single largest party after the legislative elections on November 30. Surpassing the Communist Party, Igor Dodon’s Socialists are now the leading leftist party, the primary recipient of Russian/”Russian-speaking” votes (but not confined to... MORE

The pro-Europe governing coalition has won narrowly, while the Red Left has shown new strength in Moldova’s parliamentary elections on November 30. The overall political outcome, if not entirely inconclusive, is at least somewhat ambiguous. The stakes in these elections far transcended Moldova in their... MORE

Russia’s position has always been one of creative ambiguity regarding the recognition of territorial secessions from countries in Europe’s East (Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine). In each case, Russian military forces (already in place or intruding) were the direct enablers of secession. The Kremlin’s position on the... MORE

By meeting with the leaders of the pro-Moscow Moldovan Socialist Party last week (November 4) (kremlin.ru, November 5), Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent the kind of signal to the Gagauz that they have been waiting for. And therefore, according to Dmitry Konstantinov, Moldova’s Gagauz... MORE

In its latest display of mission readiness (in mid-October 2014), the special forces brigade “Fulger” (Thunderbolt) of the Moldovan Ministry of Interior provided a massive show of force by conducting a field exercise involving 350 of its 500-strong force (publika.md, October 22). The exercise featured... MORE

After the Russian Federation banned, in July 2014, the import of a large list of Moldovan agricultural products, Moldovan businesses have continually looked for solutions. In particular, Belarus has become one of the identified commercial vents for these barred Moldovan exports. Moldova’s Prime Minister Iurie... MORE