Weekly Roundup: Shor Seeks "Victory" in Moscow
April 27, 2024
Shor Creates the Победа (Victory) Political Block
This week Ilan Shor gathered supporters in Moscow at an event titled the “Congress of Moldovan Politicians and Social Activists Supporting Moldova’s Entry into the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).” At the congress Shor created a new political block called Победа (Victory). This new block unites the Shor affiliated “Shor Party” (defunct / ruled unconstitutional), “Renaissance,” “Chance,” “Alternative and Forces for the Salvation of Moldova” and “Victoria” parties. During the party conference Ilan Shor was named the party leader, Evghenia Gutul was named the executive secretary and Marina Tauber was named the secretary of the executive committee. Speaking to the assembled delegates of the new political block Ilan Shor stated:
"We propose a new path for Moldova. The idea of the EU is a phantom, it is destructive for citizens and for the country. ... Sandu is deliberately cutting the umbilical cord of our ties with the CIS, with Russia, with the EAEU - with traditional partners and neighbors. Our task is to show people working and time-tested alternatives. I have already named them: Russia, EAEU, CIS. We will act in this direction,”
Following the official event Russian pop stars Philipp Kirkorov and Nikolay Baskov performed for the attendees.
Commenting on the event Adrian Balutel, chief of staff to President Sandu, stated:
“A criminal group gathered 1,500 km from Moldova to lead Moldova to “victory.” And no, we are not talking about the Pobeda car [Soviet car design - wikipedia link], because Moldovans prefer European models - Skoda, Mercedes and Renault. They didn't speak a word of Romanian, not even Moldovan, as they call the language. They introduced themselves as servants of the Kremlin regime, bowed and declared that at the first opportunity they would make Moldova bow, that is, at the first “victory”. The Moldovans have shown that they are a wise people and will not allow some bandits to take over our country and bring it to its knees,”
What is the purpose of “Victory?”
Shor’s motivations for creating this block and publicly announcing it at a flashy conference have been the topic of a lot of speculation in Moldova. In order to understand this, it’s first important to understand that this is a “political block” not an “electoral block.” An electoral block is a legal union of political parties whereby they combine under a joint name in order to compete together in an election. This allows them to pool their support under a single candidate or party list. A political block has no legal definition or technical electoral standing. Since most of Shor’s parties are currently polling under the 3% threshold for entry into parliament, and negligibly in presidential polls, combining their votes would likely have electoral significance. But experts have noted that any combination of parties consolidated under fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor would almost certainly be removed from any electoral contest.
So if the move is entirely symbolic what is the purpose? This is also unclear. Many of these parties have publicly sought to distance themselves from Ilan Shor in the past. In statements and interviews party leaders have denied direct links to Shor. Now, all the parties that joined the conference have publicly linked themselves to him and put themselves under his control.
The name Победа (Victory) is also somewhat significant. Firstly because there was little attempt to even pretend that this block would operate in the Romanian language. Secondly, launching ahead of the May 9th “victory day” the party is clearly affiliating itself with Russian narratives around the Second World War and patriotic Soviet slogans. Whatever the motivations for this congress, Ilan Shor and his allies are making no secret of their political and geopolitical alignment.
Aside from grand political strategy, the conference apparently had a more concrete and tactical purpose which resulted in an uncomfortable return reception for the delegates in Chisinau.
Searches of Delegates at the Airport
On their return to Moldova, delegates from the Shor congress were stopped and searched by customs officers who reported that some “resisted” searches and "aggressively tried to evade control." In all 150 searches were carried out, 135 at the airport. Police reported that they had received a tip suggesting that delegates would try to smuggle around 800,000 lei into Moldova on their return. This number turned out to be somewhat low.
Police announced that they sized 62,000 Russian Rubbles, 3,000 euros and $1.11 million dollars. Delegates had been made into couriers with each carrying a maximum of $9,000 which they stored separately from an additional 300 - 500 euros which they were paid for transporting the money. Taken together, no one person exceeded the $10,000 cash limit for people entering the country. Police seized funds but made no arrests. The investigation is ongoing.
Additionally, Dmitry Konstantinov, Speaker of the People's Assembly of Gagauzia, was stopped and his diplomatic passport confiscated. Police stated only that it was invalid.
Commenting on the situation Prime Minister Recean stated:
“We see that many people do not take the problem of hybrid threats seriously. And just the other day we saw how Shor’s criminal group is already using older people. It is very cynical to use older people as cash carriers. You've seen agencies seize over a million dollars in cash. I will continue to ask institutions to be vigilant because there will be more such attempts. (...) This is dirty money, money from organized crime, money obtained as a result of threats to the state,”
Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Bring Gutsul to Court
Prosecutors announced this week that they had concluded the investigation into Bashkan Gutsul in the case of illegal party financing. The case will now be brought to court. Prosecutors allege that Gutsul systematically organized transfers of money from Russia to Moldova in support of the Shor party during the years 2019 - 2022 when she was acting as a party secretary. She was also responsible for overseeing distribution of funds to paid protestors between October and November 2022. In all over 42 million lei was brought from Russia and over 9 million lei spent on protests in this time. Other accomplices are also implicated in the case and Gutsul faces potential fines and 2 - 7 years in prison if convicted. Responding to the announcement the Bashkan called the charges politically motivated and blamed President Sandu for orchestrating the case.
Political and Security News
Here’s a rapid fire roundup of the top political and security stories of the week:
Parliament passed the law on mail voting in the second reading. Moldovan citizens living in the US, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland will have the opportunity to vote by mail in the next election. The final version of the bill clarified that voting by mail can be conducted in countries with large distances to polling places and a local history of conducting mail voting. It cannot be conducted in countries with which Moldova has no diplomatic relations, countries at war or countries without a history of themselves conducting free and fair elections.
Parliament voted in the first reading to reclassify Stauceni as a city. The suburb of Chisinau has grown considerably in the last decade and local residents and leaders have asked for autonomy from the capital.
The Minister of Education announces the new “Moldova for Education” program. The program was announced during Moldova Education Week which took place between April 22 - 28 this year. Minister Perciun announced the new program whereby 35 schools will be renovated and equipped as “model schools.” Selected schools are spread throughout all regions of Moldova and will be equipped with modern facilities and educational technology. Parents will be provided with financial incentives to transfer their children out of underperforming smaller schools and into model schools. In order to fund renovations Moldova will be supported with money from international donors as well as a new initiative engaging the private sector in direct donations to school renovation. Announcing the program Minister Perciun stated:
"As shown by the results published by PISA in 2023, we have 50% of students who do not reach a minimum level of competence. We are facing a deficit of 7,000 teaching staff"
"Thus, on the first day of launch, we will have 11 companies from among the largest companies in the Republic of Moldova, who promised, made a commitment this year, to come with amounts between one and two million lei each, so over 14 million lei, which is to be invested in the network of model schools, something we want to celebrate, to show as an example"
Amnesty International has stated that the Moldovan government violates citizens rights in attempts to resist Russian influence. They said that the banning of the Shor Party violated the right to free association and the banning of Russian and Shor owned TV channels and websites violated freedom of expression. Amnesty also noted that Moldova has substandard conditions in prisons and has to do more to protect LGBT rights.
The government responds to new fake news campaigns. The Moldovan Army has stated that posters placed around Chisinau encouraging people to serve in the army and in an unspecified foreign legion under contract are disinformation and fake. The army has asked citizens to report sitings of the posters via a hotline or official email address so they can be taken down. Additionally, government spokesman Daniel Voda responded to news circulating on social networks, especially Telegram, stating that Poland and EU countries would be sending illegal migrants to Moldova. Voda called this new a “blatant lie” and noted that the government expects continued escalation in disinformation campaigns in the coming months.
Moldova needs a car wash. This week dust from the Sahara blanked the country causing the sky to take on a reddish tint and cars across the country to be blanketed and smeared with dust. The Environmental Agency noted that the small particles can cause a threat to people with certain health conditions and generally poor air quality but that a timely rain storm quickly removed all the particulate matter from the air. Dust storms from the Sahara blowing across the Mediterranean are a natural occurrence but rarely seen in Moldova. This particular storm primarily impacted Greece turning Athens a deep shade of orange.
Members of the Russian rock band Bi-2 have requested Moldovan citizenship. The musicians and their families left Russia after being labeled “foreign agents” for their opposition to the war in Ukraine. Recently, after a performance in Thailand the band was detained and fined for working without a permit. Thai authorities threatened to deport them to Russia, a threat that the band stated was made under “external pressure.” They were eventually released and traveled to Israel where 2 band members are citizens. The Presidential Administration announced that the citizenship application “will be considered in accordance with the procedure for ‘granting citizenship in the interests of Moldova’.”
On the 3rd Saturday in April Moldova marked the anniversary of the 1946 - 1947 famine in the country. During the famine 123,000 people starved to death in Moldova with 400,000 others being afflicted by severe malnutrition. The famine was worst in the south of the country with some villages in Gagauzia losing half their populations. Speaking at a ceremony commemorating the victims President Sandu stated:
"Soviet power forbade people to talk about the famine. For generations, the survivors were forced to mourn their losses in silence. In the memory of our grandparents, in front of our parents, we are obliged not to forget this tragedy, to talk about it, about those responsible for this crime and to commemorate the innocent victims",
The Chisinau Airport was evacuated on April 20th and 21st due to bomb threats. Police investigated and found no explosive devices. One plane was forced to divert to Iasi during the process and many flights were delayed. A criminal investigation has been opened.
Gas Prices Fall as the Emergency Ends
On May 1st the state of emergency in the energy sector will officially come to a close. This means that MoldovaGaz will no longer be making purchases under government supervision but will move to purchasing energy on the open market. The first tender for gas was carried out via the BRM East Energy trading platform, a part of the Romanian stock exchange. The tender was successful and government owned EnergoCom won the bid and will supply MoldovaGaz at an estimated price of $350 / 1000 cubic meters. Following the news, MoldovaGaz announced a planned price reduction of 9.3% for customers.
Speaking after the successful auction Minister of Energy Parlikov stated:
“In April, the gas reserves created by Energocom in previous years will run out, the contract concluded between Energocom and Moldovagaz based on the decision of the Emergency Commission expires. The gas market of Moldova is entering a new era. Thus, this year we want to dispel another persistently propagated lie that Gazprom [Russia] offers us gas at the best prices. ... In 2023, we purchased gas on the European market, and we managed to buy gas cheaper than according to the Gazprom purchase formula. Contrary to the myths spread in the media, this proves that we managed to save our consumers about €60 million,”
Poll Results - Who Sung it Best?
Last week we wrote about the surprising cultural resilience of Moldovan band O-Zone’s song Dragostea Din Tei which was just remade (again) by DJ David Guetta & OneRepublic. The readers have spoken and here are the results of the Moldova Matters poll on the best rendition:
First - Dragostea Din Tei - O-Zone - 70%
Tie for Second - Numa Numa Dance - Gary Brolsma - 12%
Tie for Second - I Don't Wanna Wait - DJ David Guetta and One Republic - 12%
Third - Live Your Life - T.I. featuring Rihana - 7%
It seems that the vast majority of readers prefer the original to any of the remakes! Personally, I was happy to see Gary Brolsma come in second but was hoping he would narrowly edge out One Republic in the final hours of the vote. Numa Numa Dance may be silly (possibly even disrespectful) but was my first introduction to Moldovan music in those early days of the internet and so will always remain a point of nostalgia for me.
Thanks everyone for voting!