Moldova faces a prolonged political crisis following the April 7 violent devastation of the parliament and presidential buildings by a young mob, after the opposition's loss of the April 5 parliamentary elections (EDM, April 7, 9). The election observation mission, representing the major European institutions,... MORE

Opposition protests against the outcome of Moldova's parliamentary elections triggered the seizure and ransacking of the presidency and parliament buildings by young rioting crowds on April 7 (EDM, April 7). Some 2,530 observers from local NGOs and 620 international observers monitored the elections. The International... MORE

Crowds of young rioters overran, ransacked, and set on fire the presidential and parliament buildings in Moldova's capital Chisinau on April 7. This outbreak may serve to embolden radical groups in Georgia on the eve of their April 9 demonstration, the declared goal of which... MORE

As anticipated (see EDM, March 13, 16) the Communist Party has won Moldova's parliamentary elections on April 5, far outdistancing the parties that ran on anti-communist platforms. On paper at least--and every fourth year in real practice--Moldova is a parliamentary republic. The new parliament will... MORE

Deliveries of Russian natural gas to Balkan countries via Ukraine and Moldova are down by approximately one half, following the April 1 explosion on the transit pipeline in Moldova. The blast is attributed to a landslide that followed days of heavy rain. It crushed the... MORE

Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin has pulled back at the last moment from the brink of a separate deal to put Russia in the driving seat of negotiations on Transnistria. The March 18 joint declaration by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Voronin, and Transnistria leader Igor Smirnov... MORE

The joint declaration by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin, and Transnistria leader Igor Smirnov, signed in Moscow on March 18 (EDM, March 20, 25, 26), is serving Smirnov well as a negotiation-breaker. Citing points in that declaration, Smirnov is now calling openly... MORE

Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin's signature on the March 18 Moscow declaration, with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Transnistria's leader Igor Smirnov (Interfax, Russian MFA website, March 18, 19; EDM, March 20, 25), amounts to a surrender in the final days of Voronin's presidency. This political... MORE

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's March 18 meeting with Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and Transnistria leader Igor Smirnov (EDM, March 20) was designed to mark a qualitatively new stage in the long-running negotiations on the Transnistria conflict. While continuing to block the conflict resolution negotiations, Russia... MORE

Moldova's Social-Democrat Party is being led by the tandem of former Prime Minister Dumitru Braghis (1999-2001) and young businessman-politician Eduard Musuc in these elections. The party targets both Moldovan and "Russian-speaking" voters. Accordingly, it promises to seek an association agreement with the EU, a strategic... MORE