The Moldovan autonomous region of Gagauzia is in crisis: Its governor is in jail, the legislature's mandate has ended and no elections are on the horizon. How great is Moscow's influence and can Chisinau counter it?
00:00Gagausia, an autonomous region in southern Moldova, is in the grip of a political deadlock.
00:06The region has been left without a functioning legislative body since the term of the People's
00:10Assembly came to an end on November 12, with no date set for an election.
00:15Earlier this year, the region's governor, Evgenia Gutzul, was found guilty of illegal
00:20party financing and sentenced to seven years in prison.
00:23Gutzul is known for her pro-Russian views, which are shared by many in the region.
00:28Some experts say that the Kremlin is using Gagausia to destabilize Moldova and exert pressure
00:33on the country's pro-European central government in Kisinau.
00:37Fugitive Moldovan Israeli oligarch Ilan Schor was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison
00:43on graft charges in 2023.
00:46He had previously fled the country after an earlier sentencing and is now in Moscow.
00:51Nevertheless, Schor wields huge influence in Gagausia.
00:55Gutzul, who is seen as Schor's protege and has been accused of vote buying, won the gubernatorial
01:01election in 2023.
01:03With Gutzul behind bars, her first deputy, Ilya Uzun, is now nominally in charge.
01:09DW requested an interview with Uzun, but his assistant said he was unavailable.
01:14Two major questions now prevail.
01:17When will elections take place in Gagausia?
01:19And can authorities in Kisinau limit Moscow's influence in the region?
01:24Many would like to see Gutzul released from prison and back in politics.
01:27It was very important for the people, very important.
01:45Some young people in Gagausia are reluctant to talk about politics.
01:49And some people blame the pro-European government in Kisinau for the crisis.
01:52An election for the People's Assembly of Gagausia can be held in March 2026 at the earliest.
02:14Until elections are held, deputies in the Assembly will continue working in a caretaker capacity,
02:20but will have very limited powers.
02:22DW met with opposition deputy Alexander Tarnavsky.
02:26Tarnavsky believes that elections would be an opportunity to be an opportunity in Kisinau.
02:54Tarnavsky believes that elections would be an opportunity to clean up Gagausia's political landscape.
02:59But journalist and former deputy Ekaterina Yekova is skeptical.
03:04You know, I have no trust in the way that people are ready to vote,
03:09People are prepared to vote as an honest vote.
03:11Gagausia now is now привык to that there was an issue that everyone was good here.
03:18Two thousand people received as social assistance.
03:24It's not a gift.
03:26This is a gift.
03:27This is a gift that people like this.
03:29She also believes that the Kremlin wants to foster instability in the region.
03:39To discourage electoral corruption, Kishinao has increased fines for accepting money from representatives of Ilan Shor.
04:02Dozens of people in Gagosia have already been fined the equivalent of around 1,000 euros for accepting such payments as part of a vote-buying scheme or for funding anti-government protests.
04:14But experts believe that such measures could backfire, driving many in Gagosia even closer to Moscow.
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