#Moldova_Russia: Yesterday's decision by the Moldovan authorities to ban the Sputnik web pages has provoked a harsh reaction from Moscow. Disinformation is the reason invoked by the Moldovan authorities. According to the Russian interpretation,⤵️
Moldova would follow the Western logic of discrediting Russia and generating anti-Russian sentiments. It is worth mentioning that Moscow did not have such an incendiary speech last Dec when the Moldovan side shut down 6 TV channels of which 3 broadcast Russian content. ⤵️
Russia is likely to try to mobilize Russian-speakers in Moldova. The Russian MFA said that there are 200,000 Russians in Moldova and up to 40% of them reside in Chisinau. The protest mood is growing as more categories of citizens have become more critical⤵️
against the govt (socially vulnerable people recruited by the Șor Party, transport associations, supporters of the pro-Moldovan identity of socialists and communists, most recently judges, etc.). In addition to falsely accusing the Moldovan authorities⤵️
of “assimilating the Russian population”, the Russian MFA has announced that economic sanctions could be used in retaliation. Pro-Russian forces could use the consequences of the sanctions could be combined with the cheap gas issues to intensify and expand the (now quite small)⤵️
protests. The impact of economic sanctions could be minimal due to the reorientation of trade from Moldova towards the EU. But the talk about sanctions could be used to portray the government as responsible for⤵️
closing down traditional markets in Moldova. This may support the goal of amplifying the protests more than the claim that the Moldovan govt is assimilating the Russian minority.
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