The Politics of Orthodoxy in Old Bessarabia

https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Romanian-and-Moldovan-Orthodox-Christians-in-conflict-64314.html

I have previously reported on the contest within Eastern Orthodoxy over the question of Moldova - an episode that somewhat parallels events in Ukraine.

Historical Revisionism and a Romanian Pastor

While reading coverage of the Romanian election (with the second round slated to take place on 18 May), I was absolutely floored reading this from a pastor in Romania:

The Russian invasion of 80 years ago is not forgotten. "They distorted everything; they raped our mothers, wives, and daughters. They are less than 200 km from my home. Do I, myself, have to kill somebody? Or to watch how my family is destroyed? Will I be able to preach again from the pulpit ever in my life? Or to run away? To leave everything behind? To leave my flock behind? I am not ready for this, I don't have the strength. I am not Dietrich Bonhoeffer... I am just a simple Christian pastor who serves his Lord in Eastern Europe."

How many times in recent weeks and months have I heard BBC programmes covering the election warning about the lessons of history being forgotten and the threat of Right-wing revisionism? And then to find this?

Romania's Failed Election and Shift to the Right

https://www.politico.eu/article/could-romania-break-eu-and-nato-elections-russia-influence-moldova-georgia-calin-georgescu/

https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/29889/at-a-time-of-social-upheaval-christians-in-romania-are-very-interested-in-how-politics-and-theology-relate-to-each-other

In late November, Romania's presidential election resulted in Calin Georgescu winning the first round with 23% of the vote. He stood poised to win the second (run-off) round and yet before this could happen, the state intervened and annulled the election. After battles in the courts, it was decided that entirely new elections would take place in May of 2025. It is unclear as to whether or not Georgescu will be allowed to run again - even though he continues to lead in every poll.

The BBC and the Manipulation of Moldovan History

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg330w2x7g3o

As previously stated in other pieces (linked below) - Moldova cannot join the EU unless Transnistria issue is solved. You can't have an unsettled border and join the EU or NATO.

Orthodox Intrigues in Moldova

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/romanian-orthodox-church-welcomes-moldovan-priests-wanting-join-2024-04-25/

https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/romanian-orthodox-church-welcomes-moldovan-priests-wanting-to-join/

As I have often reported, political programmes of subversion and transformation often contain a religious component. Moldova and its place in the West's Anti-Russia campaign has been overshadowed by the war in neighbouring Ukraine as well as other global conflicts, but in fact the campaign is intensifying as Brussels seeks to fast-track both Chișinău and Kyiv into the EU. Whether that actually happens or not is yet to be seen.

Moldovan Intrigues and Russian Threats

https://www.euractiv.com/section/europe-s-east/news/in-moldova-europes-leaders-strive-to-send-message-of-unity-towards-russia/

This article has been in the queue for a few weeks and I might have tossed it aside other than it struck me today (24 June) of how absurd it is in many respects even as NATO continues to push the narrative about the threat of Russia. Russia has been exposed today as a nation in a state of instability and peril. Not only did Putin's forces fail to take Kyiv in 2022, he has now faced a very threatening mutiny and this is even in light Ukraine's failed spring 2023 offensive. Putin looks weak in the eyes of the world.

A Ukraine Miscellany (VII): Proxy War, BRICS, and Roadblocks to the US Plan

It's a point that needs to be reiterated. By failing to provide any kind of context to the war, the reporting on Russia and the responses of Putin to the sanctions regime are effectively spin-jobs. His threats to cut off Eastern European gas are not cases of blackmail, but the result of him being painted into a corner. The sanctions are basically an attempt to blackmail Russia into bowing to NATO. Any resistance on his part is ironically couched as 'blackmail'.

Putin's threats regarding a quick response to outside intervention are presented as menacing and aggressive but once again he finds himself in a serious quandary. He's fighting a war against NATO and losing. He has certainly lost the propaganda war in much of the world. By means of proxy war, economic sanctions, and various other measures his regime is under severe strain and increasingly isolated. They're fighting him but he's not allowed to respond. In fact if Foreign Minister Lavrov or anyone for that matter within the context of US politics or media declares this to be a proxy war between the US/NATO and Russia, they're decried and even mocked by the mainstream media.

And yet the US Secretary of Defense has openly declared the US is in a fight with Russia and military aid to Ukraine is meant to weaken Moscow's military might. That sounds like a proxy war to me.

Moldova's Gas Crisis

https://www.dailysabah.com/business/energy/gazprom-to-suspend-gas-supply-to-moldova-if-payment-not-made

https://www.euronews.com/2021/10/22/europe-s-energy-crisis-moldova-declares-state-of-emergency-over-gas-prices

Is Moscow using natural gas as a weapon, as a means of putting diplomatic pressure on Moldova? Is this punishment for Moldova electing Maia Sandu a pro-European president?

Probably. The articles keep focusing on the significant back payment that Moldova owes to Gazprom, the St. Petersburg based energy company that's majority-owned by the Russian state. And yet I think the salient issue is the contract deadline in December.

The Contest for Moldova

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Moldova-is-preparing-for-a-revolution,-Belarus-style-51461.html

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Moldovan-elections-head-for-run-off-51513.html

Sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, Moldova remains poised for the same sort of unrest that has plagued both Ukraine and Belarus. Indeed, the nation which is more or less Romanian in its ethnicity is divided between it majority population and a considerable minority of Russians and other Eastern Slavs.