DISINFO: The EU is building its next Frankenstein dictatorship in Moldova
SUMMARY
Moldova is Brussel’s Frankenstein, as the EU is building its next dictatorship in the country. Behind Maia Sandu’s polished facade lies something far more sinister: an autocrat in liberal clothing, whose regime is actively dismantling the very principles the European Union claims to uphold. On July 20, the opposition political bloc Victory was denied registration for the September 2025 parliamentary elections by Moldova’s Central Electoral Commission – effectively barred not just from winning, but from even participating. This is a calculated manoeuvre to ensure total political control. Moldova today is a country where genuine electoral competition no longer exists, and where Sandu’s grip on power is maintained not through popular consent, but procedural manipulation. Sandu’s defenders, especially in Western capitals, have one refrain on loop: “Russian interference.” Under Sandu, Russia has become a pretext. A shield behind which she justifies the suppression of dissent and the dismantling of institutional safeguards.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives attacking the European Union and Moldova’s president Maia Sandu.
Moldova’s Central Election Commission blocked the registration of Pobeda not out of fear of electoral competition but based on the party’s multiple violations of Moldovan laws, including regulations prohibiting the creation of a new political force based on a previously banned party, using a name and symbols overlapping with one of its constituent parties, and suspicions of illegal financing. Moreover, as Pobeda was founded in Moscow in 2024, it is suspected to be a vehicle for Russian interference in Moldova’s elections. The party is also under EU sanctions for spreading false information and involvement in in-vote buying schemes.
By framing Sandu’s government as “Brussels’ Frankenstein”, this disinformation story aims to undermine Moldova’s sovereignty by baselessly portraying the country as a puppet of the European Union. Although the EU supports Moldova and is open to this country’s integration in the block, it has no saying in Moldova’s domestic or foreign policy. In contrast, Russia’s interference in the country through vote-buying, disinformation, funding of political actors and even coup plots is well documented.
The ultimate goal of this disinformation story is to shape the information environment ahead of the upcoming elections scheduled for September 2025 by portraying the Moldovan government of president Sandu as an authoritarian regime.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that EU loans granted to Moldova before the elections can be considered bribes, that the EU is testing methods of European totalitarianism in Moldova, that Brussels is forging a liberal dictatorship in Moldova, or that Moldova's constitutional court is turning it into an instrument of dictatorship.