“We must put questions as to the position of Moldovan society on the Russian-Ukrainian war as a nation, as a state. We have seen on social media that the people have different opinions. There are Moldovans who incorrectly think that the restoration of the USSR is possible. We must take into account the fact that the regime of Putin uses pro-USSR propaganda in all the ex-Soviet states,” Zinaida Gribincea, expert in psychology, journalism and communication, stated in a public debate hosted by IPN. She noted that many citizens in Moldova support the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to the psychologist, many Moldovans are nostalgic for the past, for the Soviet Union even if they fear the Eastern invader and are even solidary with this in parts.
Asked what makes the people in Moldova support the war in Ukraine, as many people do in the Russian Federation, Zinaida Gribincea said the Ukrainians, Moldovans and Russians are victims of a long-lasting information war that is ongoing. Since the start of the war, the propagandistic messages have been aimed at stimulating the interest of the nostalgic ones. They contained the notion “USSR” that draws the attention of a large public, primarily those who lived those times. Such words as “chemical laborites”, “fascism” and “Nazis” polarized the masses. The struggles in the virtual sphere are the effects of the propaganda that disarmed the population. It is very hard to persuade the people after so many years of propaganda.
The expert said the people become victims of propaganda as a result of very weak civic, media and democratic education. The people follow their feelings and examine the subject reasonably to a small extent. As U.S. President Richard Nixon said, a dollar invested in propaganda is more valuable than ten dollars invested in armament. The weapons can fail to shoot, but the propaganda achieves its goal. The propagandists of the Kremlin know very well how to impact the masses, by dividing and conquering.
The psychologist noted propaganda is currently disseminated through different sources, including parties, the media and social media.
“What we should do is to develop our political culture, to realize that there are victims in an information war and we are those victims. When the people realize that false information is noxious for their conscience, things can improve. The Moldovans should look further into the future. When a tacit war is accepted, the atrocities are actually accepted and the price paid for declaring its independence and identity is enormous for a nation,” concluded Zinaida Gribincea.
The public debate entitled “Who approves of the war and why?” was the 229th installment of IPN’s project “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
