Maria Zakharova: The prize received by Maia Sandu is a reward for the “hybrid colonization” of Romania

The spokeswoman of the Russian MFA, Maria Zakharova, stated that the award received by the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, in Timisoara is a reward for the “hybrid colonization” of Romania.

“We paid attention to the ceremony during which the Moldovan president M.G. Sandu was awarded the Timişoara prize for European Values in Romania, on January 13 this year. In her speech, she did not ignore the traditional unfounded accusations against Russia regarding the attempts to destabilize the internal political situation, the undermining of democracy, the hybrid war and disinformation. She declared that the eastward expansion of the European Union represented a restoration of historical justice after the peoples of Eastern Europe were “condemned to an existence of oppression and deprivation in 1945“, Zakharova stated.

“If we remember that Sandu is Romanian citizen, it is clear why she hates the Soviet Union so much,” commented the spokeswoman, before listing the “benefits” that, in Moscow’s opinion, Moldova benefited from as a Soviet republic.

“As part of the Soviet Union, Moldova transformed from an agrarian country with a ruined economy into a prosperous agrarian-industrial republic. During this period, more than 550 industrial enterprises were put into operation on its territory. Electricity production increased almost six times – by to 3 to 17 billion kWh. Almost the entire transport infrastructure of today was formed. Only in the period 1946-1950, 3 billion rubles from the general budget of the USSR were spent on the restoration and modernization of the Moldovan railway. Compared to 1940, agricultural production increased 3.7 times until 1990. The result of all these transformations was the increase of the population by 77% – from 2.46 to 4.36 million people”, Zakharova pointed out.

The Russian  MFA’s spokeswoman also said that one of the main electoral promises of Maia Sandu in 2020 was the formation of a state based on the rule of law, improving the well-being of citizens and economic development, but the “reality with figures and facts” shows that she failed. “In reality, today, one third of the population lives below the poverty line. Cumulative inflation in the three or so years since Sandu’s election was 54.6 percent. Since 1991, the population of the Republic of Moldova decreased by 41.1 percent, reaching 2.5 million people. And this process continues. Young people flee the country because of poverty and lack of rights. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in the 2023-2024 academic year, there will be 56.5 thousand students in the higher education system, while in 2007 there were 132 thousand students. Maybe I misquoted something? The current authorities in Chisinau know how to accuse, curse and threaten, but can they counter with numbers and facts?” – Zakharova said.

The spokeswoman continued to criticize and accuse the authorities in Chisinau, reproaching including the renaming of a street with the name of Queen Maria of Romania, a gesture interpreted as a “spit” against democracy.

“The Moldovan authorities suppress any dissent, block the broadcasting of independent media, persecute the opposition and openly blackmail their own people. A consistent line of rejection of the national identity, of the mother Moldovan language is followed, and the rewriting of history has become the “trend” of Maia Sandu. A recent example is the initiative of the Romanian-unionists to rename one of the central streets of Chisinau, named after Aleksandr Pushkin, to a street named after Queen Maria of Romania. This is a spitting in the face not only of the Moldovan people, but also of democracy, about which Sandu talks so much. How many more streets will be dedicated to past monarchies? How many markets, institutions and public places will have a royalist tone?”, Zaharova commented.

“If the current leadership from Chisinau had gone to the elections from these positions, then there would be no questions. If they had announced that they would reinterpret the history of the country, that they would give up the Moldovan language in favor of the Romanian language, that they would praise and glorify the representatives of the monarchical houses from other countries instead of the people who fought and are fighting for the freedom, independence and democracy of the Republic of Moldova, and the citizens supported it, then there would have been no questions, then there would have been no questions. But Sandu’s team entered with exactly the opposite theses. What kind of democracy is this, which takes away the people’s own language and names the central streets after the representatives of the monarchical houses of other countries? This is not democracy, but colonialism”, she accused.

“It seems that, for the promotion of all these “European values”, M.G. Sandu received a prize of 30 thousand euros in Timişoara. In Moldova, such a policy of the authorities is called “hybrid colonization under the guise of European integration”, Zakharova concluded.

On January 13, the President of the Republic of Moldova received the “Timișoara For European Values” award. The “Timişoara For European Values” award honors internationally recognized personalities who, with determination, courage and creativity, promote or defend European values inside and outside the European Union.