Moscow plans to take control of Moldova by 2030

An international consortium of investigative journalists got hold of a document believed to be authentic and originate from the Kremlin.

The document, titled “Strategic goals of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Moldova,” was allegedly created in 2021 by Russia’s Presidential Directorate for Cross-Border Cooperation – the same directorate that produced a similar strategy on swallowing up Belarus. It was leaked to Yahoo News, Delfi Estonia, the Swedish newspaper Expressen, the London-based Dossier Center, the Kyiv Independent, Rise Moldova, Frontstory, VSquare, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) and Norddeutscher Rundfunk.

The strategy is a 10-year plan for Moscow to take control of Moldova, a republic squeezed between NATO’s Romania and war-torn Ukraine, part of which – so-called Transnistria – was de facto occupied by Russia just after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The current developments aimed at destabilizing the political situation in Moldova prove that the Kremlin is implementing the strategy, although with delays caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine.

According to Yahoo News, the U.S. National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, made a surprise announcement last Friday, saying that the Kremlin was plotting to topple another European democracy. “Russian actors, some with current ties to Russian intelligence, are seeking to stage and use protests in Moldova as a basis to foment a manufactured insurrection against the Moldovan government,” Kirby declared.

“As if on schedule, Moldova experienced an antigovernment demonstration on Sunday, just two days later. Thousands of people waving the blue, yellow and red Moldovan flag marched through the streets of downtown Chisinau, the capital, past the national Parliament and executive building. ‘Down with Maia Sandu!’ they chanted, referring to Moldova’s outspokenly pro-European president,” the story in Yahoo News reads.

The above-mentioned media published their detailed stories based on the leaked document, including a timeline of the planned strategy implementation, with a deadline in 2030. The Kyiv Independent, in addition to the story, also provides the timeline, “Main points of Russia’s plan for Moldova,” on a separate page.

The strategy’s objectives on the chart are grouped into three crosscutting areas:

• Humanitarian sector;
• Political, military, military-technical and security sectors;
• Trade and economy.

Skipping the plan’s first nine years, this is what the Kremlin expects to achieve in Moldova by 2030:

Humanitarian sector

• Assign the Russian language as the language of interethnic communication;
• Ensure a stable presence of Russian media in Moldova.

Political, military, military-technical and security sectors

• Create stable pro-Russian groups of influence among Moldovan political and economic elites;
• Synchronize positions of Moldovan and Transnistrian leadership in the question of conflict resolution with respect to Transnistrian political, economic, and humanitarian interests;
• Form a negative attitude toward NATO among Moldovans and the country’s policymakers.

Trade and economy

• Increase Moldovan participation in the Eurasian Economic Union;
• Reduce the share of third-party currencies in foreign trade settlements of Russia and Moldova.

Moldova’2030, as Moscow sees it, can hardly be called a sovereign state. Whether or not Putin’s “sweet dreams” come true depends on the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Photo: Marina Tauber, MP from Șor, a pro-Russian political party, protests together with dozens of party supporters in Chisinau against the government. Anna-Karin Nilsson

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