“The Republic of Moldova struggles between a concept and another. But I think the authorities and the citizens ultimately chose the proper way,” Konstantin Borovoi, who in the past held a high-ranking post in the Russian establishment, currently an expatriate in the United States, said in an interview for RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service.
Asked to pronounce on the possible developments in Moldova, Konstantin Borovoi said: “We have only two possible scenarios. One model is the “Baltic one”: a fully open economy, open competition and, consequently, observance of the human rights, democracy, the whole range of freedoms and, evidently, small taxes. The second model is the “Soviet one”: the model of Ukraine of the recent past, the model of Moldova of the recent past. It goes to a kind of artificial self-isolation, a kind of badly understood “patriotism”, when Western companies are not allowed to enter the market. As they say in Russia: “We do not want to be an energy colony of the West!”. Consequently, they now face an undeveloped economy, poverty of the population, becoming a third world country. Similar processes take pace in Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia,” stated the Russian dissident, being quoted by IPN.
“It’s time [for Moldova] to pass this level at which Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania were when the given states only set off on this path and were told that all these things will lead to poverty. But they are now in a very good state, both from economic and from political viewpoints,” he noted.
As to the frozen conflict in the eastern districts of Moldova, Konstantin Borovoi said he does not think that we can speak about “Transnistria” as this is a part of the Republic of Moldova that was occupied by Russia. “The process is now led by bandits. It is the same situation in Abkhazia, in South Ossetia and in Syria too (...) It is the same “state of war”, it is the same “aggression” on the part of Russia. Negotiations should be held with Ukraine. The problem should be solved. Especially now that Yanukovych is no longer in Ukraine, the issue can be settled with more radical instruments,” stated the Russian dissident.
