RUSSIA’S POLITICAL WARFARE STRATEGY IN MOLDOVA

After the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829, Russia formally incorporated Moldova into its empire. Moldova’s heritage as an appendage of the Ottoman, Russian, and Soviet empires and two decades as part of Romania, coupled with a heterogenous population that is mostly Orthodox in faith but not Slavic in ethnicity, are key ingredients of its current political identity crisis. A central question for Moldova is whether to remain neutral but Russian-leaning, or embark upon a journey westward to enter the European Union and possibly NATO.