How Moldova Stands Up to Putin

Abstract:This essay analyzes how Moldova has resisted sustained Russian hybrid pressure while deepening its integration with Europe. It outlines the Kremlin's toolkit—political interference, corrupt financial networks, Transnistria-based security leverage, energy blackmail, and disinformation—and explains why these efforts have increasingly failed. Central to its success is Moldova's long-term Europeanization, driven by EU conditionality, and President Maia Sandu's anticorruption-centered politics, which link democracy with integrity. Legal, energy, and security reforms, plus an active civil society, diaspora, and strong support from Romania and the EU have built "defense in depth." The authors distill ten lessons for vulnerable democracies on resilience in the face of hybrid warfare.