RISE Moldova back in 2020 published data that are now included in publications related to the U.S. sanctions against Russian citizens who interfered in Moldovan politics. It also became known that the given information was known by the SIS and this notified the Prosecutor General’s Office but the latter considered the evidence was insufficient for taking measures, co-author of the investigation “Kremlinovich” Vladimir Thorik, editor of the Russian language department of RISE Moldova, stated in a public debate hosted by IPN.
“The SIS knew about the activity of the Russian political technologists and informed the Prosecutor General’s Office about this. But this institution didn’t identify elements of an offense and didn’t start a criminal case over the foreign intelligence services’ interference in politics in the Republic of Moldova. With our modest possibilities, we identified these technologies and monitored the contacts of these intruders with persons close to Dodon. We obtained irrefutable evidence showing that the persons who appear in pictures taken in the autumn of 2020 alongside the leaders of the Party of Socialists worked to ensure the reelection of Dodon as President... I will note three of them: Olga Grak, Yury Gudilin (to whom the Americans attribute ties with FSB) and Leonid Goldin, who were put on the United States’ sanctions list,” stated the RISE journalist.
The investigation was called “Kremlinovich” by the nickname that Dodon attributed to himself. The whole “story” was documented, confirmed with the assistance of Russian counterparts. The journalist made phone calls in Russia and talked to professors of Olga Grak, who initiated her in political technologies. The group included a specialist in hypnosis: “Can you imagine a hypnotizer close to the President! It’s good that Moldova does not have nuclear weapons for the President to be told to press the buttons”.
But nobody made use of this information to safeguard the country’s interests during two years, the journalist stated.
The public debate entitled “How did the U.S. authorities reach the decision to impose sanctions? What are the possible reactions and consequences?” was the 265th installment of IPN’s project “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” that is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
