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Russian-Moldovan Relations After the Collapse of the Soviet Union

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Russian-Moldovan Relations After the Collapse of the Soviet Union Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2012 Russian-Moldovan Relations after the Collapse of the Soviet Union Anna Napieralska West Virginia University Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Napieralska, Anna, "Russian-Moldovan Relations after the Collapse of the Soviet Union" (2012). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 257. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/257 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Russian-Moldovan Relations after the Collapse of the Soviet Union Anna Napieralska Thesis submitted to the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Robert Blobaum, Ph.D. (supervisor) Katherine Aaslestad, Ph.D. Elizabeth Fones-Wolf, Ph.D. Department of History Morgantown, West Virginia 2012 Keywords: Russian Foreign Policy; Russian-Moldovan Relations; Moldovan Foreign Policy; International Relations 1 ABSTRACT Russian-Moldovan Relations after the Collapse of the Soviet Union Anna Napieralska After the break-up of the Soviet Empire a newborn Republic of Moldova faced a series of challenges, one of which was creating the political and economic foundations that would allow it to become the sustainable European country. It proved to be an extremely difficult task. Indeed, at the beginning of the 1990’s Moldova was widely known as the poorest and the least economically stable country on the old continent. During the first years of independence the Moldovan leaders realized that the greatest challenge would be to limit Russian influences on the domestic and foreign policy of the country. Since the Russian Federation, the principal successor state of the Soviet Union, considered Moldova to be of the highest strategic importance it wanted to ensure that Moldova would remain under the Russian sphere of vital interests. Unfortunately for Moldova it also meant that Kremlin wanted it to remain impoverished and divided, and thus, easier to control. Support for the self-proclaimed Dniestrian Moldovan Republic became one of the effective tools of Moscow in pursuing its own vision of Kishinev’s position on the European scene. The current study presents the Russian foreign policy strategy toward the Republic of Moldova after the collapse of the Soviet Union and shows how the weak and small country had to struggle with outside influences on its domestic affairs. It also argues that it has been in Russia’s best interests to maintain the current Moldovan status quo in order to be able to prevent it from strengthening cooperation with Western players, particularly NATO and the EU. The study examines in detail the various mechanisms of Russian foreign policy that were aimed at balancing the Western influences in Moldova. Finally it argues that for over the past twenty years the Kremlin has not hesitated to use blackmail, especially on trade issues, which has significantly inhibited the Moldovan process of transformation into a democratic and sustainable state. 2 Acknowledgments Morgantown, 2012 Funding for my thesis and my MA studies at West Virginia University, Collegium Civitas, and the University of Tartu was made possible by the Transatlantic MA Program in East- Central European Studies, an “Atlantis” project sponsored by the Fund for the Improvement of Secondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education and the European Commission’s Executive Agency for Education, Audiovisual and Culture. iii CONTENTS List of abbreviations…………………………………………………………………………vi List of maps and tables……………………..…………………………………………….....vii List of maps………………………………………………………………………....vii List of tables…………………………………………………………………………..vii Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….….1 Chapter I. Historical Background of Russian-Moldovan relations………………………………..….6 1. Introduction to the History of the region ………………………………..................6 2. The First Annexation of Bessarabia and Russian Rule, 1812 – 1918……………....9 3. Soviet Policies on the Romanian Border. Creation of MASSR……………………16 4. Soviet policy vs. Native inhabitants. The Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic (MSSR), 1944-1989…………………………………………………………….....21 Chapter II. The Establishment of the Political and Economic Co-operation. 1989 – 1999…….........32 1. On the Path to Independence. 1989-1991………………………………………….32 2. The Relations between Sovereign States. The Transnistrian Conflict……………..41 3. Russian Involvement in the Transnistrian War …………………………………….45 4. Frozen Conflict……………………………………………………………………..48 5. The Peace Negotiations…………………………………………………….............51 6. The Russian- Moldovan Relations: Warming Up? ……………………....54 7. Economic Crisis……………………………………………………………………61 iv Chapter III. The Voronin Era. Moldovan-Russian Relations in the First Decade of XXI Century….66 1.Putin’s Rise to Power …………………………………............................................66 2. Moldovan Communists rise to Power…………………………………...................70 3. A Great Dissapointment …………………………………………………………...74 4. “ Kozak Memorandum”………………………………………................................76 5. A Great Dissapointment …………………………………………………………...82 6. Economic Blackmail.................................................................................................84 7. East or West? Which Course to Choose?………………………..…………………88 8. Pleasing Russia……………………………………………………………………..91 9. Elections crisis. Moldovan Communists lose power………………………………95 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………101 1. Current Situation in Brief……………………………………………………….101 2. What next?..............................................................................................................104 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………...107 Primary sources…………………………………………………………………….107 Secondary sources………………………………………………………………….108 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AEI - the Alliance for European Integration CIS- Commonwealth of Independent States DMR – The Dniester Moldovan Republic GDP – Gross Domestic Product GUAM – The Organization for Democracy and Economic Development KGB – Russian Committee for State Security MSSR - The Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic NATO- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization OGRF – Operational Group of Russian Forces OSCE - Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe OSTK –The Unions Workers and Collectors PCRM - The Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova RF –The Russian Federation UE – The European Union UN - The United Nations USSR - The Union of Soviet Socialist Republi vii LIST OF MAPS AND TABLES. List of maps. Map 1. Map 1 The Medieval Principality of Moldova……............................................................7 Map 2. The Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic 1944-1991…………………………………….21 List of tables. Table 1. Largest minority groups in Moldova,1989 and 2004…………………………………...33 vii INTRODUCTION For the citizens of the territories behind the Iron Curtain the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the changes brought by it signified the beginning of new era. Everything what constituted the existence of the Soviet republics suddenly disappeared: the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the Soviet system of state socialism, Marxist ideology and central planning. The dissolution of the Soviet state resulted in the creation of numerous independent states that had to face several challenges and difficulties which accompanied the transition. 1 One of the great examples of a post-Soviet country struggling with those difficulties is Republic of Moldova, which declared the independence from the Soviet Union on 27 August 1991. The newborn country already at the beginning of 1990s confronted many of the challenges facing the ex-Soviet republics – economic decline, political turmoil, and inter-ethnic discord2. The lack of the political consensus between political leaders regarding economic policies, failed attempts to initiate structural reforms as well as a lack of qualified cadres to serve in the local administration had resulted in the significant deterioration of the economic situation. On the top of Moldova’s 1Manuel Irman, Moldovan Division after the Collapse of the USSR: Russia's Role i\n the Transitional Process of Moldova and its Renegade Province Transnistria ( Zurich: GRIIN, 2010), p.6. 2 Charles King, Post-Soviet Moldova: A Borderland in Transition (Chisinou: Center for Romanian Studies, 1997), p. 16. 1 internal issues, the country had to face the challenging task of establishing relations with the Russian Federation. Russo-Moldovan relations after the breakdown of Soviet Empire became a main focus of foreign policy conducted by the government in Chisinau. Due to Moldova’s geopolitical position, even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union Moscow’s stance remained an important factor in the Chisinau decision-making process. Thus, Russian authorities,
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