Moldova’s recent parliamentary election was widely billed as a straight choice between rival European and Russian trajectories, with the Kremlin accused of unprecedented interference in a bid to sway the vote in Moscow’s favor.
On the eve of the election, many commentators believed a Russian success was possible. In fact, the final result was not even close. The pro-European party of Moldovan President Maia Sandu emerged as the clear winner, securing a decisive victory with a little over 50 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, the pro-Kremlin party led by former Moldovan president Igor Dodon was left far behind on 24 percent.
This strong result for Moldova’s pro-European camp represents a major setback for the Kremlin. Crucially, it underscores the challenges Putin faces as he seeks to influence elections and reassert Russian dominance over countries once ruled from the Kremlin at a time when the invasion of Ukraine has raised serious questions about Moscow’s ability to project power throughout its former empire.
Russia is said to have invested heavily in the recent campaign to shape the outcome of Moldova’s election. This included everything from financial incentives to disinformation campaigns. A BBC investigation found evidence of a Russian-funded network that paid people to post fake news online and organize rigged polls showing inflated levels of support for pro-Kremlin parties.
Social media was a key battleground in the Kremlin’s efforts to interfere in the election. Information warfare watchdogs claim Russia recruited operatives locally and employed AI technologies to create large quantities of fake accounts and flood Moldovan social media platforms with disinformation attacking President Sandu and her political party.
The scale of Russia’s efforts caused considerable alarm in Chisinau. Days before the vote, Sandu accused the Kremlin of spending hundreds of millions of euros on an election interference campaign in order to buy votes and “intoxicate” the Molodvan electorate with misleading and often inflammatory online content.
The Moldovan authorities also uncovered evidence of illicit financing including undeclared cash flows and cryptocurrency schemes. Just two days before the vote, Moldova’s Central Electoral Commission barred one pro-Kremlin party from running following a court ruling over allegations of voter bribery, illegal party financing, and money laundering.
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Russia’s attempt to sway the elections in Moldova ultimately failed. The reasons for this failure are instructive. Moldova’s state institutions deserve credit for displaying impressive vigilance and resolve. This included enforcing election campaign financing laws, acting to counter disinformation, and communicating clearly with the electorate.
Moscow’s plans may also have been undermined by corruption among those entrusted with the task of interfering in the Moldovan election. Some of the Kremlin’s local partners allegedly pocketed cash themselves rather than paying for influence operations or using allocated funds to bribe potential voters.
The decisive role was played by the Moldovan electorate. Despite Russia’s extensive efforts to discredit the pro-European camp with all manner of lurid fakes and conspiracy theories, Sandu’s electoral platform of European integration, transparency, and reform received majority backing from the Moldovan public.
This overwhelming pro-European victory highlighted modern Russia’s lack of a coherent ideology or convincing counter-narrative. While Kremlin operatives are experts in the dark arts of negative campaigning, they struggle to offer anything that can compete with the undeniable appeal of democratic rights, higher living standards, and the rule of law.
Moldova’s election is a case study in the limits of Russian interference operations. Moscow invested considerable resources in the campaign, but was ultimately unable to overcome the country’s institutional safeguards or persuade enough Moldovan voters to turn against the ruling authorities.
The lessons from Moldova seem clear: Russian election interference operations represent a genuine and persistent threat to all democratic countries and need to be taken seriously. However, as the Moldovan experience has demonstrated, an informed electorate, resilient democratic systems, and vigilant law enforcement can blunt even large-scale Kremlin campaigns.
Moldova is now in a strong position to advance further along the path toward European integration. This is also good news for Ukraine, which would have faced the prospect of a possible new front in the war with Russia if pro-Kremlin forces had won control of the Moldovan parliament. For Moscow, meanwhile, the vote was one more indication that Russia is losing influence throughout the former Soviet Empire and is struggling to compete with the more compelling ideas of its democratic opponents.
Kateryna Odarchenko is a partner at SIC Group Ukraine.
The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the , its staff, or its supporters.
The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values, and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia, and Central Asia in the East.
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