Resilience against Russian lies
When the British think tank Chatham House decided last year to measure the resilience of countries to foreign interference, it chose the tiny nation of Moldova as a pilot study. The timing was perfect. In early March, Moldova鈥檚 national intelligence agency said Moscow is planning an 鈥渦nprecedented鈥� destabilization campaign to influence the Eastern European nation鈥檚 presidential election as well as a referendum on European Union membership later this year.
鈥淪ince the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, concern has grown that neighbouring Moldova would be next in Moscow鈥檚 bid to regain control over the former Soviet republics,鈥� the think tank stated. Indeed, Russia spent more than $55 million last year to influence elections in Moldova, according to the country鈥檚 Security and Intelligence Service.
To Moldova鈥檚 credit, Chatham House found the country 鈥渋s becoming more resilient to Russian interference,鈥� especially in society鈥檚 strong support for democracy. That conclusion was based on a survey of 37 international and Moldovan experts.
Just where does such resilience lie in Moldova? To be sure, the country has a new agency to counter Russian disinformation, enlisting the 鈥渨hole of society鈥� to fight lies with the truth. For the first time, Moldova officially deemed Russia a threat. And with EU help, it is pushing social media companies to take down sites with disinformation while improving the media literacy of citizens.
Yet as President Maia Sandu often says, enacting economic reforms and curbing corruption are key antidotes to Russian meddling. She also hopes that persuading voters of the benefits of joining the EU will neutralize Moscow鈥檚 propaganda. One poll shows 54.5% would vote for joining the EU.
In the resilience survey, Moldova scored high for civil society鈥檚 efforts to counter disinformation. 鈥淲e鈥檙e counting on our society ... to help us continue to build resilience [against Russia鈥檚 hybrid threat],鈥� Moldova鈥檚 foreign minister, Mihai Popsoi, told The Associated Press.
And he added, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not whether the Russians would want to come ... and violate our sovereignty 鈥� it鈥檚 a matter of whether they could.鈥�
