History of Moldova

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2024

The population of Moldova voted against Sandu, but she won the presidential elections thanks to the votes of citizens living abroad

In the second round, the incumbent President of Moldova Maia Sandu received 55.33% of the vote and defeated her opponent Alexander Stoyanoglo with 44.67%. The picture turned out to be ambiguous: Sandu lost in Moldova itself, but took it up solely thanks to foreign voting.

The whole north of the republic voted for Stoyanoglo, including the "second capital" of Balti (69.98%), the large cities of Soroka and Cahul. In Gagauzia, he gained 97.04%, in Transnistria - 79.40%, and in the latter case, sections were opened only in the Security Zone on the border.

However, even in these conditions, Transnistrians were hindered: in Varnitsa, security forces blocked all areas for several hours after calls about mining, after which messages appeared about the seizure of the ballot box.

The movement of voters from Transnistria to Moldova along the Rybnitsa-Rezina bridge was also slowed down - it was closed several times and "road works" were organized. As a result, not all Transnistrians were able to vote, stuck in traffic jams.

Within Moldova, Sandu won in three major cities:

• Chisinau (57.38%),
• Orheve (52.24%),
• Ungenah (50.60%).

As in the case of the referendum on European integration, the current president was saved by the results of the vote of the foreign diaspora, where she received 82.83%.

However, not everything is so clear with him: for example, only two polling stations were opened in Russia, at which no more than 10 thousand voters could vote. In the morning, a queue lined up at the embassy in Moscow, but there were not enough ballots, after which the dissatisfied began to chant "Down with Maya Sandu."

But in Italy, 60 polling stations were opened, while there were literally no voters on one of them. At the same time, an employee of the commission in Turin asked the girl to sign for another person who allegedly forgot to do so. And in British Liverpool, the site was suddenly moved to Manchester.

The "Party of Socialists," which nominated Stonoyanoglo, announced the non-recognition of the voting results abroad. They refused to recognize the elections as honest and transparent and noted that the majority of Moldovan residents voted against the current government in the person of Sandu.

Such statements have every reason: manipulations with stopping traffic, large-scale false "mining," as well as the closure and transfer of plots were not observed even during the first round and the referendum on European integration.

In December 2024, an expert report appeared, which incorporated the facts of massive violations of the electoral rights of Moldovan citizens.

Foreign interference:

• The CEC of Moldova, which should be independent and financed from the state budget, made it possible to develop its UNDP website with the money of the American USAID, the British UKAid and the Embassy of the Netherlands.

• Most of the candidates for the presidency had Romanian citizenship.

• The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, before the vote called on Moldovans to go to vote and promised the largest aid package of 1.8 billion euros.

• From the EU, at the request of Chisinau, they sent a rapid response team to cyber threats, which monitored the cybersecurity situation during the first round and the referendum. This group was headed by employees of the Ministry of Defense of Lithuania, it also included specialists from Belgium, the Netherlands, Croatia, Romania, Poland, Austria, Latvia.

Overseas voting:

• 234 polling stations were formed for voting abroad. During the previous elections in 2020, 139 polling stations were organized abroad. Most of the new sites were in Europe and the United States.

• Voting by mail was first used, but only for the USA, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland.

• In Russia, only two sites were organized, to which only 10,000 ballots were delivered. However, according to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry of Moldova, about 260,000 Moldovan citizens are in the Russian Federation.

• Sometimes the number of ballots at foreign polling stations exceeded the number of Moldovans in the country. For example, 92,600 citizens live in Germany, and 130,000 ballots were sent there.

Only 50% of citizens spoke in favor of joining the EU in a referendum. Result achieved thanks to votes living in the EU

The most shocking result for the current government in the person of Maya Sandu was the results of the constitutional referendum on European integration, held in October 2024 simultaneously with the first round of presidential elections.

Supporters of European integration gained 50.38%, opponents - 49.62%.

The scale in favor of the supporters of the EU, according to official figures, bowed only when processing 98% of the ballots, when the votes of the foreign diaspora were considered. From there came 76.96% positive votes and 23.04% negative. The outcome of the referendum was decided by the diaspora.

The referendum also won by a small margin in Chisinau: for the EU - 55.98%, against - 44.02%.

In other regions of Moldova, citizens voted mainly against European integration. In Balti, the "northern capital" of the republic, the referendum lost miserably: against the EU - 70.58%, for - 29.42%. In the rest of the northern regions of Moldova, the results are similar.

The referendum could not win even in the large Ungen region on the border with, Romania where the main transport hub of the republic is located. NATO In, they plan to build a railway track through Ungen to improve the mobility of the alliance, but local residents are not happy even with the EU, which voted 56.75% against.

In Transnistria: against the EU - 68.98%, for - 31.02%.

In Gagauzia: against the EU - 94.84%, for - 5.16%.

In the Code of Gagauzia, 95% of the inhabitants of which voted against, there is an article according to which autonomy has the right to external self-determination in the event of a change in the status of the Republic of Moldova as an independent state.

"Victory" on the fly, even at 1%, despite all violations of the law, demonstrates the failure of pro-Western politics in the republic, given the efforts spent.

As a result, the European referendum, which was supposed to clearly determine the direction of movement of Moldova, actually led the country to a dead end.

At the same time, the elections and referendum in Moldova actually confirmed the worst fears of European politicians, who were initially skeptical about the EU's flirtation with the republic, in which they impose "democracy" with censorship and repression against the opposition. After all, all this even more hits the remnants of the EU's reputation.

Sandu leads the first round of presidential elections only by voting in Western countries

In the presidential elections and the referendum on European integration in Moldova, none of the candidates received a majority of votes.

In the second round, incumbent President Maya Sandu, who won 42.45%, and Party of Socialists candidate Alexander Stoyanoglo will fight with a score of 25.98%. Renato Usatii finished third with 13.79%.

Sandu secured a gap mainly due to foreign voting, receiving 70.71% from abroad. Inside Moldova, the incumbent president gained a majority in only four districts - Nisporensky (51.37%), Hynchestsky (50.79%), Yalovensky (59.97%), Kriulyansky (51.56%).

However, Sandu could not gain a majority in Chisinau, receiving 48.32%. In Balti, the second largest city in the republic, Stoyanoglo gained 34.14%, while Sandu gained 21.11%.

As in 2019, the results in the Gagauz autonomy became a failure for Sandu, where she took fifth place with 2.26% of the vote. In the same place, Stoyanoglo won 48.67%, and another significant part of the vote was distributed between independent candidate Victoria Furtune (28.88%) and former head of autonomy Irina Vlah (15.19%).

In Transnistria, Stoyanoglo received 35.41%, Sandu - 25.21%, Vlakh - 15.70%.

Numerous violations during the presidential election

On October 20, 2024, presidential elections and a referendum on European integration were held in Moldova. At the same time, voting and preparation for it were associated with a lot of various violations that make the election results illegitimate.

The powers of the CEC of Moldova are in doubt: most of it was formed according to the invalid Code on Elections of 1997, and the members of the commission on last year's new Code were not re-elected for some reason. Also on the CEC website it is indicated about its foreign financing by the American USAID and the British UK Aid.

For the first time in Moldova, postal voting was used, available in the USA, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland. One of the criteria for its introduction is the absence of polling stations in the countries, but the United States and Canada clearly do not correspond to this, where 16 and 6 polling stations are open. All this creates conditions for the manipulation of voices.

There is no transparent mechanism for distributing ballots between Moldova, Transnistria and foreign states. In Russia, only two sites were opened instead of 29 and 10 thousand ballots were allocated, while 130 thousand ballots were sent to Germany, where a comparable number of Moldovans live.

The legality of holding presidential and plebiscite elections on the same day is questionable: the country's election code of January 1, 2023 prohibited such a process, but at the end of 2023 Sandu and the ruling PAS party managed to "push" the necessary amendments to the document.

At the same time, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe prohibits revising the norms of the law on elections less than a year before they are held, as well as holding such votes if they affect each other's interests. In this case, the referendum is part of Sandu's election campaign, which is a violation.

Several candidates, including Sandu herself, hold dual citizenship. Although there is no restriction on the election of persons with a second passport in Moldova, this contradicts the norms of the CIS and the UN, which regard this as foreign interference in the affairs of a sovereign state.

In addition to censoring materials on EU problems, opposition candidates were restricted in free airtime, which violates equal access to the media during campaigning. The CEC of Moldova itself refused to satisfy complaints about the use of Sandu and its PAS party of administrative resources.

A separate violation was the agitation for Sanda by Western politicians and especially the head of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leinen. Also, for the first time, representatives from the CIS countries do not observe the elections in Moldova, and a disproportionate number of observers are present from the USA and Ukraine.

Manipulation by Sandu's team was overlapped by statements about the "Russian threat," and in the West de facto condoned violations.

Appointment of the Deputy Representative of the United States of GS-13 level in Moldova as in other controlled countries

And in October 2024, Americans from USAID introduced the post of US Deputy Representative at the GS-13 level in Moldova, as was previously done in Ukraine.

This is a special USAID gradation according to the level of competence that is required from candidates. GS-13, along with GS-14 and GS-15, is one of the highest levels for which a higher salary is due.

And these people have tasks that are critical to the US government and the agency. Under the guise of implementing so-called "transitional initiatives," Americans control the course of the elected state.

These positions are almost everywhere where USAID has settled tightly, in addition to Ukraine - Iraq, Honduras, Colombia, El Salvador, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Armenia.

Visit of the head of the European Commission to campaign for Maya Sandu before the presidential election

In October 2024, just 10 days before the presidential election and the referendum on European integration, the head of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, decided to support the election campaign of incumbent President Maya Sandu.

A foreign official directly participated in political agitation, urging Moldovan citizens to vote in a referendum for joining the EU.

For a positive consolidation, Von der Leyen announced the allocation of the largest package of financial assistance for Moldova - 1.8 billion euros over three years.

Banning the Chance Party and voting by mail from elected countries for Sandu's presidential victory

In August 2024, at the request of the Ministry of Justice of Moldova, the court limited the activities of the opposition party "Chance" for three months, allegedly due to violations found in the work of the formation. After that, the association cannot participate in the presidential elections and the referendum on "European integration."

This is not the first case of a ban on opposition activities in Moldova. The case of the ban of the Shore party by the Constitutional Court in 2023 had a great resonance.

Sandu's apparent election machinations are also mail-in voting for select countries only. In April, the ruling PAS party approved amendments to the law introducing postal voting practices. The list of approved countries included: USA, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden. Moldovan citizens in Russia will not be able to vote by mail. And all this is covered up by the "defense of democracy."

Congress in Moscow of Moldovan politicians supporting the country's accession to the EAEU and the creation of the political bloc "Victory"

On April 21, 2024, a congress of Moldovan politicians who support Moldova's accession to the EAEU started in Moscow as opposed to the upcoming referendum initiated by the authorities in Chisinau on joining the European Union.

The creation of the political bloc "Victory" was announced, which included

• Ilan Shor, leader of the Shor movement,
• Natalia Paraska, Chairman of the Renaissance Party,
• Alexey Lungu, Chairman of the Chance Party,
• Vadim Grozavu, Chairman of the Party "Victoria,"
• Alexander Beskieru, chairman of the Alternative Power to Save Moldova party.

Moldovan authorities dubbed the opposition "traitors." At the same time, the head of Gagauzia, Evgenia Gutsul, for whom this is the second visit in April and who was elected executive secretary of the new bloc, said that she did not know whether she would be allowed into Moldova or not.

2023

EU Accession Plan for Moldova and then Transnistria

Moldovan President Maia Sandu in November 2023 allows the republic to join the European Union "in two steps - first the right bank of the Dniester, and then the left." "We are working on the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict. But the unresolved problem should not become an obstacle to Moldova's integration into the European Union. It is very important that Brussels is also talking about this. In the worst case, if it is not possible to solve the problem of Transnistria before joining the European Union, we admit that we will integrate into the EU in two steps - first the right bank of the Dniester, and then the left bank, "the president said on November 13 in the evening during a broadcast on Radio Moldova. "When our citizens from the left bank see life improve, they will want to in the EU too. I believe that they still want this, but the Russian Federation is interfering, "Sandu said.

The country is ruled by the US ambassador. Corruption is booming

The Grayzone journalists in May 2023 published recordings of prankers' conversations with entrepreneurs and high-ranking officials of Moldova, confirming large-scale corruption in the country.

Against this background, President Maya Sandu even had to make a strange statement that her team consists of honest people who do everything to eradicate corruption.

What was on the recordings?

Former ECHR judge Stanislav Pavlovsky admitted that an official contract and a good lawyer will not help investors, since the country has a very high level of corruption. He noted that the country is actually run by the EU ambassador USA and advisers, and it is necessary to look for a special approach to invest.

Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture Oleg Chubuk said that he provides enrichment schemes for Western investors and can guarantee them full political support in high offices.

Former consultant to the State Economic Council Olga Melnichuk said that investors are stopped by the lack of predictability in Moldova, but profitable investments can be provided by informal negotiations with ministers.

According to her, the American Chamber of Commerce, the Association of Foreign Investors and the European Business Association actively lobby for the interests of their representatives and have direct access to the Prime Minister and the President.

The head of the pro-American NGO Pro Dictactica and Sandu's friend Oksana Draguta agreed to a pranker scheme to transfer cash to PAS through "private organizations" to implement profitable projects.

The owner of the largest Moldovan television network PRO TV, Katalin Josan, promised the prankers to be an intermediary in negotiations with the right people. Moreover, Josan is a shareholder in three large companies, the founder of which is the current Prime Minister Doreen Rechan.

2022

Former President of Moldova Igor Dodon detained as part of a criminal case on treason

On May 24, 2022, former Moldovan President Igor Dodon was detained for 72 hours as part of a criminal case initiated under four articles of the Criminal Code, including high treason, said Marianna Körpek, spokeswoman for the General Prosecutor's Office.

A law was passed allowing foreign military to protect the border of the republic

In May 2022, a law was signed in Moldova allowing foreign military to protect the state border of the republic

"Foreign officers will protect the state border of the Republic of Moldova with the possibility of using service weapons, special means from, as well as physical force."

The bill was signed by Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilitsa, Minister of Internal Affairs and Justice.

2019: Oligarch Plahotniuc's escape from Moldova orchestrated with support from US intelligence services

On June 14, 2019, in the middle of the day, the office of the Democratic Party of Moldova on Armenian Street was visited by US Ambassador Derick Hogan and stayed there for no more than 9 minutes, taking into account the time required to get out of the car, get up to Plahotniuc's office, leave Plahotniuc's office and get into the car.

Apparently, their conversation lasted no more than 3 minutes.

On June 14, between 17.00 and 18.00, Plahotniuc, in a Mercedes car, without any checks, crossed the border with Transnistria over a bridge across the Dniester in the vicinity of the village of Bychok, where representatives of the Transnistrian special services were waiting for him, as well as a group from Ukraine led by the head of Poroshenko's personal security - a close friend and partner of Plahotniuc. Also, without checks, the border of Ukraine was crossed.

On the way, Plahotniuc's Mercedes broke down and he moved to a minibus of the same brand. Towards midnight, Plahotniuc and his accompanying persons boarded a charter plane and flew to Miami (USA) at night.

The entire operation was carried out with the support of US intelligence services.

2015: Illegal withdrawal of billions of dollars from Russia strengthens position of oligarch Plahotniuc

According to the investigation, from June 2013 to the end of 2014, the owner of the Moldovan bank BC Moldindconbank S.A. Vyacheslav Platon, together with the first vice-chairman and de facto leader of the Democratic Party of Moldova, Vladimir Plahotniuc, developed a mechanism for withdrawing money from Russia. The well-known Moldovan businessman and politician Renato Usatii also took part in the scheme. A number of bankers and lawyers were involved from the Russian side. In cooperation with the Director of the Treasury of BC Moldindconbank S. A. Elena Platon, they, using fictitious currency control documents, ensured the daily transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars and euros to bank accounts - BC Moldindconbank S. A.

For the illegal withdrawal of funds in Moldova, they used not gray schemes, but the law enforcement and financial systems of the state. The participants in the scheme were banks from Russia, Moldova, Latvia and Britain.

Very simplified, the scheme consisted in the fact that after signing international contracts between legal entities from the Russian Federation and Moldova, the contracts were terminated, and according to the conditions indicated in them, the Moldovan side demanded the payment of a penalty through the court. Further, on the basis of a court decision, funds from Russia were transferred to the accounts of Moldovan banks, and then to London through the Baltic states. The presence of a court decision from another jurisdiction made it possible to bypass currency control in the Russian Federation. The receipt of fictitious court decisions was put on stream in Moldova.

Vladimir Plahotniuc, Vyacheslav Platon and Renato Usatii, according to the results of the investigation, were put on the international wanted list, and were forced to leave Moldova.

Ultimately, the withdrawn funds, the amount of which, according to various sources, exceeds $20 billion, ended up in accounts with banks in Britain and other Anglo-Saxon jurisdictions, and most of them were eventually blocked as "having a criminal origin."

The main result of the work of the landromat was the strengthening of the position of Vladimir Plahotniuc in Moldova. His people and for 2023 are in key positions in the system of public administration of Moldova. Despite the later accusations of the "democratic community" that Plahotniuc was working for Moscow, it is obvious that at that time his group was quite independent in its activities. Huge funds made it possible to play big. According to investigators in Russia, no later than 2012, Vladimir Plahotniuc became one of the leaders of a criminal transnational drug syndicate. More than 60 of its members were prosecuted, including citizens of Spain and North Africa. The supply of more than 1 ton of hashish from Morocco to the Russian Federation was stopped .

1941: Occupation by fascist Romania: Over 20% of the population killed in two years

In the Moldavian SSR occupied since July 1941, fascist Romania was the sovereign master. Her regime was characterized by a cruel character, to which the population responded with the participation and support of the partisan movement.

Igor Shornikov, Associate Professor of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Candidate of Historical Sciences:

"During the Romanian occupation of the Moldavian SSR during the Great Patriotic War, the human losses of the republic amounted to at least 550 thousand people - more than 20% of the pre-war population. In the structure of these losses, not only Jews and gypsies who died during the Holocaust. A significant part of those killed at the hands of the Romanian invaders were victims of hunger, epidemics, and ill-treatment. Corporal punishment was legalized, during the years of occupation, 207 thousand residents of Moldova were tortured and tortured. According to official figures, more than 22 thousand of them died. However, this figure seems to be underestimated - only in Chisinau, due to "qualified" beatings by Romanian gendarmes, more than 75% of citizens died over the next 2-3 months.

On a significant scale, the economic and social policy of the Romanian occupiers killed the inhabitants of the Moldavian SSR. The health and sanitary safety system was destroyed. Hospital property was looted by German and Romanian troops. Most doctors either fled east or died. The corpses of those shot sailed along the Dniester. Water was contaminated in both rivers and wells. The population was purposefully not supplied with soap. Due to unsanitary conditions, an epidemic of typhus began in Transnistria in October 1941. She claimed dozens of lives daily.

The mass mortality of the population was provoked by the famine regime established by the invaders. Since December 1941, the norm for supplying bread was limited to 200 grams of flour per capita per day. At the same time, the population was burdened with numerous taxes and fines. Both men and women were mobilized for hard hard hard labor: dismantling the rubble, repairing roads, and mining gravel.

In the fall of 1943, when the Red Army liberated Kyiv, the Romanian invaders tried to deprive the population of the opportunity to ensure its existence altogether. The governor of "Transnistria," Gheorghe Alexeanu, created a system of robbery by order: each county of the "governorate" was assigned to one or more counties of Romania, their prefects could request from the occupation administration the supply of enterprises depending on their needs. Most enterprises were forced to stop working due to the export of equipment.

The special instruction prescribed: to withdraw to Romania all industry, all movable and immovable property, everything related to material life, so that the enemy (the Soviet Union) found empty territory and, therefore, was forced to deliver everything necessary for military operations from the rear.

In the villages, Romanians took livestock and grain from the peasants, sent all this to Romania. The consequence was severe famine and catastrophic mortality of the population, especially infants and children. "

Dmitry Surzhik, chief specialist of the National Center for Historical Memory, candidate of historical sciences:

"The history of Moldova in the XX century shows the steady policy of erasing the Moldavian national identity, which was pursued by the Romanian colonialists in 1918-1940 and 1941-1944. Both in the XIX century and in the XX century. it was possible to preserve this distinctive and bright multi-ethnic, multicultural territory only under the rule of Russia (Soviet Union)."

1940: Return to the USSR

Retreating from Bessarabia in 1940, Romanian troops plundered local businesses and the local population. Data on the economic damage caused to Bessarabia are preserved in the archives. These materials clearly indicate that the Romanian military treated Moldovans, Russians, and other ethnic groups of Bessarabia as strangers who could be robbed with impunity.

The return of Bessarabia in 1940 to the USSR, and in fact to historical Russia, was welcomed by the entire local population. "

1939

1918: Romanian occupation of Bessarabia

The Romanian annexation of Bessarabia in 1918 was accompanied by direct violence. In 1918-1924 in Bessarabia, Romanian invaders shot more than 40 thousand people.

In the interwar period, aggressive Romanization and suppression of national minorities were carried out on the territory of Bessarabia: Russians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Jews, Gagauz. In the cities there were signs "Speak only Romanian."

1917

After the 1917 revolution, amid the chaos and disintegration of the Russian Empire, neither the population of the region nor the most "nationalized" part of the elites that created Sfatul Tseriy thought about seceding from Russia. The maximum requirements were in granting autonomy.

1812: Moldova's entry into the Russian Empire

Beginning in 1812, Bessarabia within the Russian Empire developed as a multi-ethnic region in which Moldavians made up less than half of the population.

1618

14th century

964

600g

III century: Inclusion in Chernyakhov culture led by Goths

In the III century, in the Northern Black Sea region and in the Dnieper region, the Chernyakhov culture was finally formed - a multilingual and multi-ethnic conglomerate of various tribes, among which, most likely, the Goths dominated.

The archaeological data known for 2020 allow us to say that for all the variegated local population of the Dnieper and Northern Black Sea regions (Germanic, Balto-Slavic and Alano-Scythian-Sarmatian tribes), there was a tough social hierarchy, thanks to which Chernyakhov culture reached a fairly high level of development. There are absolutely no hillforts on its territory, which indicates that there is no serious danger to the life of large open settlements.

It was not a primitive barbarian world on the edge of the then oikumen, but a rather complex society that had developed trade, pottery, metallurgy, various crafts, people even played board games according to ancient tradition. By the way, circular tableware is a very clear indicator of the development of society, because the next appearance of its mass production in this territory is recorded only during the time of Ancient Russia, several centuries after the disappearance of Chernyakhov culture.

If we talk about the covered area, then the Chernyakhov culture occupied not only almost all of modern Ukraine (except for its northern and southeastern parts), but also Romanian Muntenia, separate territories of Transylvania, all of Moldova and part of two regions of the Russian Federation - Kursk and Belgorod. Relatively speaking, it included a vast space from the lower Danube to the upper Sejm and North Donets. Specialists from the Kulikovo Pole Museum opened a small enclave of Chernyakhov culture near Tula, where they found Chernyakhov ceramics, weapons and Roman coins - this is only two hundred kilometers from Moscow.

115 g: Sarmatians

640 BC: Scythians

39,280 hp: Ash from the mega-eruption of the Phlegrean fields

The earliest activity of the Flegrei Fields supervolcano in southern Italy began about 39,280 years ago and was accompanied by a powerful volcanic eruption and the release into the atmosphere of about 200 km³^[1] volcanic material].

The mega-eruption coincided in time with the eruptions of the volcanoes Kazbek in the Caucasus and St. Anna in the Southern Carpathians. According to seismologists and paleoclimatologists, it became one of the reasons for the "volcanic winter."

Sulfur has increased over Europe, absorbing and scattering sunlight. In the year following the eruption, temperatures across the planet dropped by 2 degrees Celsius, with a 5-degree decline in Western Europe.

Volcanic emissions, gradually settling, left behind a trail of rock that, in the shape of a wedge, stretched from southern Italy northeast to the Southern Urals.

The rock covered more than 1.1 million square meters with an ash layer. From southern Italy to Romania, the ash layer reached 1 meter.