This tiny country is a laboratory for Russia’s dirty tricks
The Kremlin wants to rig Moldova’s election. The country is fighting back
Since the Soviet Union collapsed, a good quarter of Moldovans—no one knows the figure for sure—have chosen to build new lives abroad. Two decades ago roughly half of such emigrants used to head for jobs in Russia, which had ruled them from 1944 to 1991; the other half tried their luck in western Europe. But now the traffic is nearly all westward. Especially since Russia’s assault on Ukraine in 2022, the entire country of 2.5m or so people, with a few peculiar territorial exceptions, has been pivoting towards the EU. A presidential election and simultaneous referendum on October 20th are expected to confirm this trend—so long as Russia’s unprecedented array of dirty tricks can be fended off.
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Small boat, big waves ”
Europe October 19th 2024
- Italy starts outsourcing its migrant crisis to Albania
- This tiny country is a laboratory for Russia’s dirty tricks
- Why Russia is trying to seize a vital Ukrainian coal mine
- The limits of Turkey’s strategic autonomy
- Poland’s new modern-art museum wants to give the capital a fresh look
- Hopes for religious harmony come to life in the Muslim Vatican
From the October 19th 2024 edition
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