CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Moldovan historian and politician Octavian Ticu Remember when the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s, a seismic event that allowed him to become one of the first amateur boxers to fight for his country at the pinnacle of his sport: the Olympic Games.

“It was a happy moment for me,” the 52-year-old remembers, clenching his fists in a boxing gym in the capital, Chisinau. “In 1996 I participated in the Atlanta Olympic Games. … If I were in the Soviet Union, I would never have accomplished this.”

But today, more than three decades after proclaiming independence, Moldova is being targeted by Russia in a hybrid war of propaganda and disinformation that is “wreaking havoc,” Ticu, who competed in the lightweight division, told The Associated Press.

Like Ukraine and Georgia, the former Soviet republic aspires to join the European Union but it’s trapped in a constant geopolitical tug between Moscow and the West.

“Russian propaganda is a reality of 30 years of independence,” added Ticu, who has written several books on the history of his country.

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This story, supported by the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, is part of an ongoing Associated Press series covering threats to democracy in Europe.

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In a national referendum on October 20, Moldovans voted by a narrow majority of 50.35% in favor of secure a path to EU membership. But the result was overshadowed by accusations of a Moscow-backed vote-buying scheme.

in a presidential elections held on the same daythe current pro-Western president, Maia Sandu, obtained 42% of the votes, but did not achieve an absolute majority. On Sunday he will face Alexandr Stoianoglo, a Russia-friendly former attorney general, in a runoff seen as a choice between geopolitical opposites… again.

As in the EU referendum, a poll published this week by research firm iData indicates a close race on Sunday that is leaning towards a narrow victory for Sandu, an outcome that could depend on Moldova’s large diaspora.

The presidential role carries significant powers in areas such as foreign policy and national security.

In the wake of the two October elections, Moldovan authorities said that Ilan Shor, an exiled oligarch currently living in Russia and orchestrated by a vote-buying scheme, sentenced in absentia in 2023 fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors say $39 million was paid to more than 130,000 recipients through an internationally sanctioned Russian bank between September and October. Shor denies any wrongdoing.

“These people who go to Moscow, the so-called government in exile of Ilan Shor, who come with large sums of money, remain free,” said Ticu, who ran as a candidate with little chance in the presidential race.

It was “obvious,” Ticu added, that the votes “would not be fair or democratic.” Of the 11 candidates in the first round, he was the only one to support Sandu in the second round.

Voters in Transnistria, Moldova’s breakaway region that is friendly to the Kremlin and declared independence after a brief war in the early 1990s, can cast their ballots in Moldova itself. Transnistria has been a source of tension during war in neighboring Ukraine, especially because it hosts a military base with 1,500 Russian soldiers.

Ticu warned that if Russian troops in Ukraine reach the port city of Odessathey could “join the Transnistria region, and then the Republic of Moldova would be occupied.”

In Gagauzia, an autonomous part of Moldova where only 5% voted in favor of the EU, a doctor was detained after allegedly forcing 25 residents of a nursing home to vote for a candidate they did not choose. Police said they obtained “conclusive evidence,” including financial transfers from the same sanctioned Russian bank.

Anti-corruption authorities have carried out hundreds of searches and seized more than $2.7 million (€2.5 million) in cash as they seek to crack down.

On Thursday, prosecutors raided the headquarters of a political party and said 12 people were suspected of paying voters to select a candidate in the presidential race. A criminal case was also opened in which 40 employees of state agencies were suspected of accepting electoral bribes.

Instead of gaining the overwhelming support Sandu had hoped for, the results in both elections exposed Moldova’s judiciary as unable to adequately protect citizens. democratic process. It also allowed some pro-Moscow opposition to question the validity of the votes.

Igor Dodon, leader of the Party of Socialists and former president who has close ties to Russia, said this week that “we do not recognize” the referendum result and called Sandu “a dictator in a skirt” who “will do whatever is necessary.” . remain in power.”