Civic activist and economist Nicolai Malisev was attacked in Tiraspol by unknown individuals. He was beaten and struck with a glass bottle in the stairwell of his apartment building. Although he was hospitalized with serious injuries, he was quickly discharged without undergoing a full medical examination. Malișev himself believes the attack was retaliation for his criticism of the structures controlling Transnistria, IPN reports.
The incident occurred last Thursday, February 20, at midday, in the building where the activist lives. Eyewitnesses stated that the attackers acted with extreme brutality, hitting him multiple times with a glass bottle. The assault only stopped after neighbors intervened upon hearing the commotion.
After the attack, Malisev was taken to a hospital in Tiraspol, where he was not given the necessary medical tests and was discharged shortly afterward. He later sought medical assistance from doctors in Chisinau, but due to a lack of health insurance, he is now recovering at home and unable to be hospitalized in Chisinau.
The victim believes the attack is linked to his recent criticisms of corruption in Transnistria and attempts to pressure him ahead of the November elections.
Authorities in Tiraspol have not commented on the incident.
Malisev, 42 years old, is an economist and social activist known for his outspoken criticism of the Tiraspol administration.
In 2020, he ran for office in the region’s so-called parliament but was not elected. In 2021, he was disqualified from the race for Tiraspol’s administration chief, officially due to an insufficient number of signatures. In 2024, a court ruling excluded him from the local by-elections. He has spoken openly about corruption in the budget allocation system and criticized law enforcement actions in the region.
Currently, Malisev leads two projects:
"Eurasia: Lesosad – The Future Ecosystem of Green Cities in Eurasia"
"Eurasia for Children in Every Courtyard"
The attack on Malisev is not the first against opposition figures in Transnistria. The most notorious case of pressure against critics of the Tiraspol administration was the assassination of Oleg Horjan, leader of the unrecognized Transnistrian Communist Party.
Horjan was arrested in 2018 after organizing a protest in Tiraspol and sentenced to four and a half years in prison. After his release in 2022, he resumed his political activities, but on July 17, 2023, he was found murdered in his home in Sucleia, with multiple stab wounds. His safe had been opened, and although authorities ruled it as a robbery, Horjan’s colleagues consider his death a political killing.
The situation of political prisoners in Transnistria is escalating. The release of detainees whom Chisinau considers political prisoners has become a key condition in negotiations with Tiraspol regarding gas supply to the region.
After Tiraspol rejected a €60 million grant from the European Union to pay for gas, supplies are now expected to be secured by a company from Dubai and transported by a Hungarian company.
The authorities in Chisinau have approved the gas transit but have demanded that the Tiraspol administration demonstrate openness by releasing eight detainees. On February 10, the Bureau for Reintegration published a list of five prisoners, later updated with three more names.
