cristiancantir.bsky.social
Associate Professor, Oakland University. Foreign policy analysis, paradiplomacy/sub-state diplomacy, role theory, Romania, Moldova, fiction, and TV. Academic work: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=Vvx23r4AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubda
446 posts
1,087 followers
1,119 following
Regular Contributor
Active Commenter
comment in response to
post
... the problem is that the channel will be able to do damage in the meantime, amplifying Russian propaganda and the messages of pro-RU groups. These strategies are also being tested out for the upcoming legislative elections.
comment in response to
post
... the "repressions of the PAS regime." You can read his rant on the pro-Kremlin Moldavskyi Vagon Telegram channel here (t.me/s/mv6566).
comment in response to
post
... and Gagauzia in an asymmetrical federation that would have sunk Moldova's European integration aspirations and would have secured Moscow's control over Moldova (promis.md/analitica/me...).
comment in response to
post
... Fourth, the NGO reports on the "alarming" phenomenon of the miltarization of education, bolstered by the fact that paramilitary and security forces in Transnistria get about 20% of the region's budget (compared to 7.51% that goes to the educational system).
comment in response to
post
... Second, the number of illegal checkpoints reached 53 in 2024, which severely restricts the freedom of travel. Third, Romanian-language schools continue to witness a "hostile climate," with teachers threatened at illegal checkpoints, for instance...
comment in response to
post
... the oligarch working with the Kremlin to destabilize the country.
comment in response to
post
... This conflict also reveals Chișinău's strategy of working with local mayors and officials that aren't controlled by Ilan Șor (who has taken over the Gagauz executive and legislature in Comrat, the capital), while ignoring Șor's people in light of ...
comment in response to
post
... Many Gagauz officials often refuse to say explicitly that the EU provides funds for public projects in the region, which is one of the reasons why the EU continues to be very unpopular there despite Brussels investing millions of Euros and providing visible benefits...
comment in response to
post
... that made similar accusations. The mayor said the accusations were lies and that he's not a traitor for working with Chișinău (which Șor forces in Gagauzia have been refusing to do) and thanked the EU for all of its projects in Vulcănești (nokta.md/kak-v-gagauz...) ...
comment in response to
post
... of hiding the Gagauz flag during a meeting with prime minister Dorin Recean and flying only a Moldovan and an EU flag. The Gagauz governor (who is affiliated with Șor) said the mayor insulted Gagauzia and there was a Șor-directed protest on Saturday ...
comment in response to
post
... would square with his constant claims that he's a supporter of strict neutrality. Once again, it's baffling to me how pro-RU groups insist on antagonizing Romania and Ukraine, Moldova's only two neighbors. Source: Dodon's Facebook, February 21.
comment in response to
post
... Moldova to open up its borders to let those Ukrainian men flee. So Trump's statements are opening up space for criticism of Ukraine by other political forces abroad. And, of course, Dodon didn't explain how creating an incentive for Ukrainian men to flee to Moldova ...
comment in response to
post
... and Transnistrian TV celebrates by saying that "Trump won't give Moldova 22 million dollars" (for a program fostering an inclusive political process) and wonders whether it was a Biden administration program that gave Moldova humvees recently (tv.pgtrk.com/ru/news/2025...).
comment in response to
post
ties with Russia are good and include the participation of a Transnistrian delegation at the Sochi youth festival in 2024 (no mention of Russia causing a gas crisis in the region). Source: novostipmr.com/ru/news/25-0...
comment in response to
post
... I'd expect this sort of centrist positioning (vague condemnation of the invasion and support for U.S.-Kremlin ties) to match more closely how pro-RU groups articulate their take on RU's invasion. Source: about an hour into the legislative session (parlament.md/live-md.nspx).
comment in response to
post
Poor management for decades at the Calea Ferată din Moldova (CFM) rail company and, more recently, the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, along with other factors. They haven't gotten salaries for months. This is a good summary of the issue: www.mold-street.com?go=news&n=19...
comment in response to
post
... PSRM want a Trump-Putin agreement that dismisses Kyiv's concerns as secondary. So something to watch is how the new Alternativa bloc (which includes Alexandr Stoianoglo and Ion Ceban) develops a position here. I expect ambiguity, but we'll see.
comment in response to
post
... for contact with RU, which also allows attacks on the EU and claims that powerful states in the West are now with Putin. It'll be interesting to see how centrists articulate their position on war talks, too: PAS supports Ukraine's positions and groups like ...
comment in response to
post
... a letter from Vladimir Putin congratulating him. This type of obsequious behavior will also be visible during the electoral campaign, and we might even see more of it from centrists like Ion Ceban, now that the U.S. has opened up space ...
comment in response to
post
... and isn't exactly inspiring confidence that Moldovan institutions and politicians are working coherently to address major security threats. Finally, PSRM president Igor Dodon had a recent birthday, and has been bragging about receiving ...
comment in response to
post
... So Șor will obviously continue to be a big challenge for Moldovan law enforcement. Recent events in the judicial sector, with chief anticorruption prosecutor Veronica Dragalin resigning as the ruling party seeks to reorganize institutions, is concerning ...
comment in response to
post
... their salaries in months (partidulsor.com/news/ilan-so...). Police are investigating this announcement, especially since Șor is collecting the personal data of any of the people willing to accept the cash...
comment in response to
post
... since the region's voters overwhelmingly support Kremlin-friendly candidates. Speaking of Șor, he continues to test out ways to bribe voters. This time, he promised to give cash (about $160) to Moldovan rail workers, who haven't received ...
comment in response to
post
... How this plays out during the legislative election is yet to be seen: it's possible Gagauz residents will be told to boycott the election if pro-Russian fugitive oligarch Ilan Șor isn't allowed to field candidates, although that would be an own goal for pro-RU forces ...
comment in response to
post
... if, as they claim, Chișinău does not stop violating the autonomous region's powers (gagauzinfo.md/news/politic...). This keeps threats of separatism visible before the legislative election. Gagauz officials also reiterated their claims that President Maia Sandu is illegitimate. ...
comment in response to
post
... "militarization" and attacks on NATO will be visible during the electoral campaign, and will be articulated using populist zero-sum tropes like "we should be building schools, not buying tanks." Second, Gagauz authorities are threatening a new referendum ...
comment in response to
post
... coalition would get a majority in parliament. Second, pro-RU politician Irina Vlah is protesting after the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) rejected her proposal to hold a referendum on neutrality (really an an anti-NATO referendum). Rhetoric on Moldova's ...
comment in response to
post
... and Maia Sandu, with frequent attacks on USAID, Ukraine, NGOs, and media outlets. The hope here, I suspect, is that the onslaught of pro-Putin measures by the U.S. will demobilize the pro-EU electorate in Moldova, making it more likely that a pro-RU/centrist...
comment in response to
post
... and there were many ways to continue gas deliveries to the region. The whole report (mins. 33-35, in Russian) is here (smotrim.ru/video/2934023).
comment in response to
post
... any popular discontent in the region. But the talking points have not changed, including about the EU (whom Tiraspol has reluctantly thanked for earlier aid, but then pivoted to praising Russia). Source (in Russian): tv.pgtrk.com/ru/show/6566...
comment in response to
post
... who says that Chișinău and the EU sought to impose conditions for their loan that would have destroyed Transnistria's economy and "statehood." Transnistria is not democratic, so it's very difficult to get polling data. We don't know if there's ...
comment in response to
post
... Gas deliveries using a Russian loan have started in the region over the weekend. Separatist leader Vadim Krasnoselski said that Russia had no conditions for the loan. The TV station quotes a local official and analyst ...
comment in response to
post
... is visible among pro-RU groups and would be worth investigating as a subject of research (for instance, the passive voice carries a lot of water in their statements, with no clear identification of who actually invaded). Source: Dodon's live Facebook show, Feb. 14, min. 19.