“On the one hand, the members of the branch congratulate President Putin on the occasion of Russia Day. On the other, they publicly disseminate the idea that this day is actually the National Shame Day...”

Holiday or drama

On June 12, Igor Dodon, the leader of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM), offered his cordial congratulations to the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, on the occasion of the national day – Russia Day. It is an ordinary practice and it is nothing extraordinary here. However, if we take into account the PSRM leader’s status of expert of the Izborsk Club, we can discover that this congratulation cannot be sincere in principle. In time, the members of the Izborsk Club that formed an Imperial Movement, expressed their negative attitude to Russia Day unequivocally. The members of the Izborsk Club consider that June 12, 1990 is rather the Country Dismemberment Day”. That’s why, according to them, the faster this day is excluded from the calendar and the memory of the people, the swifter the people will return to their true roots.    

The president of the Izborsk Club – the key promoter of the Russian imperialism Alexandr Prohanov – has a more nuanced attitude to the day of June 12: “I don’t see anything pathetical in this day as it is not a holiday of victory, which would crown an accomplishment. I’ve resigned myself to this drama that took place over 20 years ago and my thoughts are aimed at the future – strengthening of the Imperial Movement.”

On the other hand, the branch in the Republic of Moldova of the Izborsk Club led by Socialist MP Bogdat Țîrdea is much more trenchant and publishes really scandalous opinions about the day of June 12 – Day of the state suicide of Russia and the National Shame Day. The members of the Imperial Movement explain their negative attitude to the given day this way: this is the day when the state sovereignty statement of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) was adopted and a part of Russia was separated from the Great Russia., which is the Soviet Union. It is an incontestable truth that namely the RSFSR launched the sovereignty parade that ended with the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. That’s why what really matters is the attitude to this event.

This way, for the members of the Imperial Movement, including for those from the PSRM, the day of June 12, 1990 is a drama, while for those who consider that the dissolution of the USSR was a natural end of the degradation of a an ideological, totalitarian empire it is a holiday. There is also the third option that is shared by the main beneficiaries of the collapse of the communist system, who enriched themselves excessively when they came to power, but want an empire on the ruins of the Soviet one to be restored by annexing territories of the former Soviet republics and supporting separatist movements.
         
Cognitive dissonance

From the aforementioned, the cognitive dissonance of the Moldovan branch of the Russian Imperil Movement emerges. On the one hand, the members of the branch congratulate President Putin on the occasion of Russia Day. On the other, they publicly disseminate the idea that this day is actually the National Shame Day. It is hard to live with such a conscience rupture. But it is possible, especially when money makes the mare go. The point is the leaders of the PSRM are actually interested in the support of President la Vladimir Putin. We remember that a simple picture of the leaders of the PSRM near Putin, which was turned into an electoral billboard at the parliamentary elections of 2014, raised the party’s rating from 0.5% to 20%, plus the financing provided to the PSRM by GAZPROM – by $700,000-800,000 a month, etc. In such a context, the flattering statements of the leader of the PSRM concerning President Putin can be understood: “I envy the Russian citizens for having such a leader”. But besides the flattery of this representative of the Imperial Movement, he, as the President of the Republic of Moldova, and simultaneously, as an expert of the Izborsk Club, wrote ‘perfect’ notes about the situation in the Republic of Moldova to Putin. This is a sample of defense of the sovereignty and independence of the country he led.

As to the drama – the collapse of the URSS experienced by the members of the Imperial movement in Russia, the leaders of the PSRM adopted a two-faced attitude, which was suggested by President Putin himself: “Those who do not regret the fall of the USSR do not have heart, while those who dream of the restoration of the USSR are unwise.” Surely, why should Putin dream of the restoration of the USSR if he is the successor of the corrupt clan of Boris Yeltsin, who placed him in the seat of President of Russia? Furthermore, President Putin has relatives and adolescence friends who became multibillionaires owing to public procurement. This way there are reason for those who are not unwise, which is those who have interests, to congratulate President Putin on Russia Day. This is how the leader of the PSRM acted. On the other hand, those who deplore the dissolution of the Soviet empire publish opinions about the National Same Day, as the head of the Moldovan branch of the Imperial Movement did. 

Given the aforementioned, it should be noted that the effects of this artificial aliasing have been powerfully felt in the recent past in the local subdivisions of the PSRM. This way, a month ago, members of the PSRM from Zastânca commune announced their decision to leave the PSRM  for the reason that the party’s administration is preoccupied with the satisfaction of the personal interests, which makes the defense of the citizens’ interests impossible, causing political instability in the country. In the same connection, a number of members of the PSRM’s subdivision in Ialoven also announced recently their leaving, saying: “We do not tolerate and do not share the last decisions taken - the coalition with the party of oligarch Shor; creation of the electoral bloc with the one who humiliated us by aberrant and insulting statements”.

Indeed, the ordinary members of the PSRM can be understood. It is indeed humiliating and insulting to be the member of a party whose leaders warn that any coalition with the mafia and the bandits leads to failure, but then act namely like this. It is also insulting to listen to the active members of the Russian Imperial Movement speaking about the defense of the sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Moldova.

Conclusions

It is the duty of the citizens of the Russian Federation to clarify their national holidays and to decide what was bad in their country’s history. The authorities and the politicians in the Republic of Moldova should respect the official holidays of any state in accordance with the diplomatic norms, avoiding showing the lack of discernment in relation to these. Ultimately, the ruling clans can change and the good interstate relations should persist.

As regards the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, these should be concerned about the fact that some of the politicians in their country are affiliated with the Russian Imperial Movement, which openly claims a part of the territory of our country. Moreover the lack of discernment of the Moldovan politicians who are part of the Imperial Movement should be combated actively by all the accessible legal ways, while their false pleading for the sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Moldova should be unveiled. In this regard, an example is given to us by ordinary members of the PSRM, who recently decided to leave the party following the duplicitous policies pursued by the party’s elite.