MOLDOVA  –  Voters in Moldova will cast their ballots Sunday in two crucial votes, which have been billed as the most consequential in the country’s post-Soviet history. One is for president, the other a referendum on eventual European Union membership; neither appears safe from pro-Russian meddling.

Some of those voting have been offered the chance to make a quick buck. Ilan Shor, a Moldovan oligarch with links to the Kremlin, has said he’ll pay people for working to elect a Russia-friendly candidate and stop the referendum passing.

Since being convicted in absentia for his role in stealing USD 1 billion from Moldovan banks in 2014, Shor has spent much of his time in Russia, where he has set up a political movement that Moldovan officials claim is attempting to interfere with the country’s presidential election and EU referendum.

Alongside a more sophisticated misinformation campaign, Shor has resorted to cruder methods to meddle with Moldovan politics. In a video posted to his Telegram last month, Shor said he would pay voters the equivalent of USD 28 if they registered with his campaign, with the prospect of more for good results.

“If you have worked well and most people in your area voted against (the referendum), the bonus that you receive personally from me on your card will be 5000 lei (USD 280),” he said.

Authorities say Shor’s offer is part of a wider campaign attempting to sway the two votes, which could determine whether Moldova continues its path toward the West or remains lodged within the Kremlin’s orbit.

Moldova, an eastern European country of some 2.5 million people sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, has veered between pro-Western and pro-Russian courses since the end of the Cold War.

Russia still has some 1,500 troops stationed in Transnistria, a sliver of territory which illegally split from Moldova as the Soviet Union crumbled and has since been run by pro-Russian separatists.

But Moldova’s pro-Western camp has dominated since 2020, when Maia Sandu – a Harvard-educated former World Bank official – won the presidential election by a landslide, promising to clean up the country’s judiciary and combat corruption, a major issue. Her Party of Action and Solidarity won a majority in parliament the next year. She’s now seeking a second presidential term and is considered the frontrunner. (CNN)

Photo: Ilan Shor has continued to influence Moldovan politics from afar. (EPA) …[+]