Moldova Matters is an English Language newsletter focused what is happening in Moldova and why it matters
05/07/2025
The NYTimes has reported that Moldova was open to taking 3rd country “deportees” from the US. I look at what this means, why is probably won’t happen… and why it really shouldn’t.
In today’s roundup I look at what to expect from the Moldova-EU summit taking place today, evaluate Irina Vlah’s rapping skills and dive into other major events such as the denial of entry to Russian “athletes” and more.
Ilan Shor has launched the first ruble backed stablecoin - A7A5. It is designed to evade western sanctions, inject dollar assets into the Russian banking system and to finance Shor and the Kremlin’s hybrid war against Moldova. I unpack the recent CIR report and look at the implications of this new cryptocurrency for Moldova.
Moldova’s top pro-Kremlin politicians converged in St. Petersburg to “negotiate” Moldova’s return to full reliance on Russian energy. At the conference Putin made claims to all of Ukrainian territory, and any territory with Russian combat books on the ground (*cough* Transnistria) but that didn’t seem to bother them. I look at what this new grouping of politicians could mean for Russia’s elections, and other top stories of the week in this week’s roundup.
The JournoBirds team tells the story of 2 Moldovan health tech startups and how Moldovan founders are growing their businesses across Europe and the US.
Chisinau’s Pride March was successful on Sunday, but not without controversy and at times violent counterprotest. We also look at political updates and maneuvers as parties fully move into the pre-election season. Also, Transnistria’s economic crisis deepens. All this and more in the Weekly Roundup.
Maia Sandu, Nicușor Dan and Volodymyr Zelensky meet in Odesa and discuss regional cooperation. We also look at how Russia might infiltrate 10,000 soldiers into Transnistria, hybrid warfare updates and new links between little known Moldovan politicians and US MAGA congressmen.
Today Moldova Matters brings you a guest post by Valeriu Pașa, Chairman Watchdog.md on the scale of the hybrid war the country will face going in to September’s elections. Valeriu is an expert on Russian disinformation and warns about what is coming, and how people should prepare to push back.
What do you do when you find out that the former President of the Constitutional Court plagiarized your work and called it his own “opinion?” That’s not a consideration I’ve had before today.
Who paid $45,000 to a DC lobby firm to promote Moldovan politician Vasile Tarlev — and why isn’t it reported anywhere? A tangled story of hidden money, foreign influence, and missing disclosures.
Moldova declared a day of mourning as legendary composer Eugene Doga passed away. Meanwhile Shor-linked figures launch a new effort to unite Moldova’s opposition, and major new disinformation campaigns attacking Moldova are spread by the Kremlin. All this and more in the Weekly Roundup.
ZdG wins a major investigative journalism award for their undercover investigation of Shor’s election manipulation effort in 2024. Meanwhile, there are new indications that Shor’s network in Moldova is drawing closer to Romania’s far right.
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