In Case You Missed It...
A Roundup of past Moldova Matters Explainers and Deep Dives for New Subscribers
Back in February 2021 when I started Moldova Matters I figured it would be a fun way of turning a hobby as a news-junkie into a project that kept my writing fresh and shared a bit more about Moldova with an English speaking audience. Almost immediately, it became a lot more than that. Spring 2021 was the political and constitutional crisis that brought PAS to power in the summer elections. Fall 2021 brought a critical gas crisis. All of 2021 brought never-ending COVID news. And 2022 has brought a War in Ukraine and unprecedented security and economic crisis for Moldova. This has been a lot to cover and quite a lot of complicated information to try to contextualize for an audience who might not read 4-5 Moldovan news sites daily like myself.
One of the key tools that we’ve tried to use at Moldova Matters has been Explainer and Deep Dive articles that spend a lot of time on one issue. Explainers attempt to shed light on systemic and structural realities in Moldova that underpin current affairs. Deep Dives focus on specific issues and take a hard look at what is driving them. These articles have traditionally been “subscriber only” though any written after February 2022 have been open to the public.
Today, I want to introduce some of these older articles for new subscribers because many of the topics covered in them remain extremely relevant to understanding todays events. From “How does the Moldovan Government Work?” to articles about the stock market and more there are critical bits of nuance I suggest all readers explore. We’re going to be rolling out more articles like this for subscribers in the near future focusing on critical economic reforms, e-commerce and 21st century business and more.
Most of the articles linked below are for subscribers but all have a free preview that covers around 1/2 of the article so you can get an idea of what they entail. Please do consider subscribing to Moldova Matters. The past year+ has been a lot more chaotic than I ever imagined and it does take a lot of work keeping up. If you find value in this newsletter, consider subscribing for $5/mo. It’s the price of one fancy coffee and helps keep Moldova Matters running.
Explainer: Moldova is in a Pickle
In this explainer we examine the political, economic and geopolitical constraints on Moldova’s actions in the context of the war in Ukraine. What can the government do and what can’t they? (this article is free for all readers)
Explainer: Moldova is in a Pickle
Explainer: Bribery and Corruption
Behind the News with Moldova Matters
How is Moldova Matters curated? What stories make the cut and why? We try and take you behind the news with this article to better understand the choices and decisions that need to be made to present a manageable weekly roundup to readers.
Behind the News with Moldova Matters
Deep Dive - Moldova’s Gas History with Russia
Energy is driving almost all Moldovan economic, political and geopolitical decisions right now. The energy crisis Moldova finds itself in is not accidental, it is not due to poor management, it is intentional. Russia has spent years developing leverage over Moldova using energy as a weapon. Here’s the story of that process.
Deep Dive - Moldova’s Gas History with Russia
Explainer: Does Moldova have “Left” and “Right” Wing Parties
Deep Dive - Part 1: The New Government Program
Reading this article back is both sad and nostalgic. After the July 2021 elections the PAS party came to government with an aggressive agenda of reform. This agenda was rapidly derailed by COVID, the energy crisis, and now the war. Reading back through their program is interesting as it highlights the longer term structural issues that desperately need to be solved but aren’t getting much attention due to the current crises.
Deep Dive - Part 1: The New Government Program
Deep Dive - Part 2: Meet the Ministers
Who is in the Moldovan government? While rumors swirl in July 2022 of a potential cabinet reshuffle, it’s worth noting that this lineup from July 2021 is still pretty much the same. Take a look at this article to get an understanding of who is governing Moldova, what their background is and what their wealth declarations look like.
Deep Dive - Part 2: Meet the Ministers
Explainer: The Moldovan Stock Market
Spoiler - the stock market doesn’t much work. This is the story of why its early promise and tumultuous history is a great encapsulation of Moldova’s failures to create a modern market economy over the last 30 years.
Explainer: Limited Liability Companies and Offshore
With joint stock companies basically a dying breed, the Moldovan economy works on Limited Liability Companies. The problem is, those don’t work very well either and many entrepreneurs *need* to offshore their companies in order to function at all. We look at why this is and what can be done about it.
Glossary of Moldovan Politics
This article provides a crash course in Moldovan government, parties and political institutions. Some of the parties referenced have since gone the way of the dinosaur, but most of the terms and institutions described here remain extremely relevant to understanding Moldovan politics.
Explainer - How Does Moldova’s Government Work?
Written during the opening phases of the political and constitutional crisis of Spring 2021, this article attempts to explain the institutions of political power in Moldova and how they interact. One of the most important ideas examined, and one that was crucial to understanding the crisis in 2021 is the central paradox of power in Moldova - aka the President is elected with a popular mandate but has no power while the Prime Minister is often never elected to anything and has all the power. This and other elements of the system introduce an inherent instability that remains a critical tension in Moldova to this day.
Explainer - How Does Moldova’s Government Work?
I hope you enjoyed some of these articles! Feel free to leave a comment or write an email with questions or requests for future Explainers and Deep Dives! And please do consider subscribing if you haven’t already!
