{"id":13864,"date":"2026-11-02T13:48:37","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T11:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zdg.md\/en\/?p=13864"},"modified":"2026-11-02T13:51:06","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T11:51:06","slug":"video-david-smith-on-zdg-documentary-russia-has-spent-35-years-trying-to-keep-moldova-poor-and-under-its-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zdg.md\/en\/video-david-smith-on-zdg-documentary-russia-has-spent-35-years-trying-to-keep-moldova-poor-and-under-its-control\/","title":{"rendered":"VIDEO\/ David Smith on ZdG documentary: Russia has spent 35 years trying to keep Moldova poor and under its control"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For the past 35 years, Russia has sought to prevent the Republic of Moldova from becoming a free and independent state, using war, economic embargoes, corruption, and disinformation. This is one of the conclusions drawn by David Smith, author of the Moldova Matters<\/em> newsletter, in an editorial published on Monday, November 2, analyzing Ziarul de Gard\u0103’s (ZdG) documentary, In Moscow\u2019s \u201cFriendship.\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The editorial, titled \u201cPoorest Country in Europe (by Design),\u201d<\/em> describes ZdG’s documentary as a retrospective of Moldova’s 35 years of independence and the Kremlin’s repeated attempts to maintain its influence over the former Soviet country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Smith, the 1992 Transnistrian war, economic embargoes, the money-laundering operation known as the \u201cRussian Laundromat,\u201d and disinformation campaigns should not be viewed as isolated events, but rather as parts of a continuous Russian effort to prevent Moldova from achieving genuine independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Smith also notes that the documentary highlights how Moldova has gradually managed to break free from Moscow’s influence. He points to the National Revival movement, the adaptation of winemakers and farmers to new economic realities, and the resilience of civil society, strengthened by years of hybrid attacks and information warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the moments that particularly caught Smith’s attention was a statement made by Vladimir Putin during a press conference in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMoldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe. It used to be the poorest country, but now Ukraine has taken over this \u2018place of honor<\/em>\u201d<\/em> the Kremlin leader said at the time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Smith argues that ZdG’s documentary helps viewers understand the connection between Moldova’s poverty and the policies pursued by Russia over the past several decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his view, keeping former Soviet republics impoverished, corrupted, and dependent has been a deliberate Kremlin policy, while Putin’s statement reflects his contempt for both Moldova and Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201eThis film is about Moldovan history and the story of how small but meaningful victories can stack up to create real changes. It also shows clearly how Russia treated the colonies that broke away from the Soviet Empire in its so-called \u201csphere of influence,\u201d and how that was only a holding place for when the empire was ready to reconstitute itself\u201d<\/em>, he said. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Ziarul de Gard\u0103’s documentary, In Moscow\u2019s \u201cFriendship,\u201d is available in full on YouTube<\/a>, including English subtitles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n