Moldova

Well, it’s done; Moldova successfully fought off a Russian attempt to subvert their election. This is per The Guardian:

The pro-western incumbent Maia Sandu has won a second term in office in the Moldovan presidential election, preliminary results have shown, marking a significant boost for the country’s EU aspirations and a clear rebuke to Moscow.

The runoff election was seen as a crucial indicator of whether the country’s long-term geopolitical alignment will be with Russia or Europe.

This has significant geopolitical consequences, so I made the story about it. Moldova is a small country sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania. It is also one of the poorest countries in Europe. It has a province, Transtrinia, occupied by a regiment of Russian troops and one of the world’s most extensive Cold War weapons storage facilities.

Given the Russian penchant for not maintaining their stuff, I suspect that the weapons depot is also a toxic repository at this point. But I digress.

Russia mounted an incredible electoral interference program. It included flying Moldovans living in Russia to Western capitals to vote as if they were in the diaspora. There was also a lot of vote buying, especially in rural areas, and other methods of pressure. Those of us following this drama did sweat it for a tad because, like in many states in the US, the…