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1 1 (January 2018)

handle is hein.amenin/aeiaaei0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Key Points * Corruption and hyper-politicization of nominally independent government bodies provide avenues for Russian interference in Moldovan domestic politics. * The election of pro-Russian President Igor Dodon in 2016 was made possible by his de facto campaigning with Putin and has resulted in Moldova turning away from the EU and NATO and toward Russia. * The pro-Russian Moldovan Orthodox Church and various nongovernmental organi- zations are both vehicles for promoting Moscow's worldview and organizations for Moldovan politicians like Dodon to signal their closeness with the Kremlin. A divided national identity and pervasive Soviet legacy provide fertile ground for Russian interfer- ence in the weak and unstable Moldovan political system. Historically, Moldovan political elites have always been divided between those who support and those who oppose closer ties with Russia. Russophiles have generally had the upper hand ever since Moldova became a Russian protectorate in the early 18th century, only to have its eastern part, known as Bessarabia, incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1812. However, despite an assiduous process of assimilation and denationali- zation, a significant portion of Bessarabian elites maintained their identity and used the opportunity provided by the Russian Revolution to unite with Moldova's kin state Romania in 1918. Nonetheless, a Soviet ultimatum forced Romania to concede Bessarabia in June 1940, only to regain it a year later. Yet the Soviet Union ultimately took control of the region in August 1944 and established the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic. Despite zealous efforts to turn Moldovans into Soviet citizens, some local elites withstood the denationalization process, albeit at an extremely high personal cost, as many of those who opposed the regime were imprisoned or deported to the Soviet Far East. Against all odds, a national eman- cipation movement was still active even in the Soviet police state. Later, as Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of perestroika and glasnost allowed some political liberty across the USSR, a national move- ment laid the groundwork for a future Moldovan state, which gained independence in December 1991. Political Vulnerabilities of a Young Democracy The political system of the Republic of Moldova is still transitioning from a Soviet one-party police state to a pluralist democratic society. Despite having adopted a modem European-style constitution in 1994, Moldova's democratic credentials have con- sistently come into question. As political scientist AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE

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