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Cristian Canțâr

@cristiancantir.bsky.social

1.2K followers 1.2K following 1.7K posts

Associate Professor, Oakland University. Foreign policy analysis, paradiplomacy/sub-state diplomacy, role theory, Romania, Moldova, fiction, and TV. Academic work: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=Vvx23r4AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubda

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Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · Nov 10

Going to pin a short introduction here as more folks migrate away from the other site. I teach at Oakland University, a public university in the greater metro Detroit area in Michigan. I'm originally from Moldova (lived there until I was 15), and have lived in the U.S...

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Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 16h

On Chișinău's city day (hram), if you want to learn more about Moldova's capital, I'd recommend this website run by the municipal library, which includes entries like 120+ interesting facts about Chișinău (in Romanian: chisinauorasulmeu.com/2021/01/08/s...).

Știați că? 120+ fapte interesante despre Chișinău

Descoperă Chișinăul altfel! Vă invităm să faceți cunoștință cu o colecție de curiozități, informații fascinante și fapte unice despre trecutul și prezentul Chișinăului. Fiecare detaliu spune o pove…

chisinauorasulmeu.com

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Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 1d

I agree. I think it's important for PAS to contest elections everywhere. Chișinău has gotten better at keeping lines of communication open with local non-Șor-controlled leaders (like the Comrat mayor), but they need to develop much more political capital in the region.

Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 1d

... like frequently misogynistic attacks on President Maia Sandu, claims of "dictatorship" in Moldova, and so on. You can read the full report here (in Romanian: watchdog.md/wp-content/u...).

watchdog.md

Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 1d

Russian propaganda in Moldova is so extensive that it's started targeting people who are into Tarot and astrology. WatchDog, which monitors RU narratives, has released a report showing that channels spreading pseudoscience are also disseminating RU talking points ...

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Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 1d

... may consider contesting the race too, although PAS is so unpopular in the region that it's unlikely she'll win (more on potential candidates here: cotidianul.md/16025/aleger...).

Alegerile viitoare pentru funcția de bașcan în Unitatea Teritorială Autonomă Găgăuzia - Cotidianul

Actuala guvernatoare a UTA Găgăuzia, Evghenia Guțul, a fost condamnată pe 5 august de Judecătoria Ch

cotidianul.md

Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 1d

... who ran for President in 2024 and some Socialists. Stoianoglo may be an interesting candidate since he's less radically pro-Kremlin. Worth noting that PAS has a well-known Gagauz businesswoman on its M.P. list (Maria Acbaș), and ...

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Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 1d

... are important because they will also reveal RU's strategy in this deeply pro-RU area, and will show the strength of Ilan Șor's radically pro-Moscow allies there. Other pro-RU groups and individuals may contest the governor's election, including Alexandr Stoianoglo, ...

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Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 1d

... Popular Assembly since the region has to hold elections but can't yet b/c there's a court case about the legality of the region shuttering its electoral commission (newsmaker.md/ro/gagauzia-...). In any case, elections in Gagauzia, whenever they're held in the next few months, ...

Găgăuzia, fără conducere. Alegerile pentru Adunarea Populară și bașcan pot fi organizate în aceeași zi?

În luna noiembrie, în Găgăuzia ar trebui să fie aleasă noua componență a Adunării Populare. Totuși, până în prezent nu a fost stabilită data scrutinului, deși acest lucru trebuia făcut încă din septem...

newsmaker.md

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Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 1d

... Guțul is a close ally of pro-Russian fugitive oligarch Ilan Șor and is in prison for illegal party financing (from Șor). Șor may have to scramble to find a new governor candidate to keep control over the region. The situation is messier in the ...

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Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 1d

... And Gagauzia is expected to hold elections for its governor and its local legislature (the Popular Assembly). When it comes to the governor's race, if courts uphold a prison sentence for governor Evghenia Guțul, she'll lose her job and new elections will have to be held...

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Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 1d

... current leader Vadim Krasnoselski and strengthen Vitali Ignatiev, who is more radically pro-Russian. Ignatiev is also a wanted man in Ukraine. So it's an election worth following to see what Russia's next moves will be in the separatist region (dw.com/ro/analiz%C4....

dw.com

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Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 1d

... and other local institutions at the end of November 2025. The elections will likely not change much by way of Transnistria's general orientation toward Russia, but Deutsche Welle is quoting sources that say the Kremlin may be looking to weaken ...

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Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 1d

If, like me, you're already craving more Moldovan election content, you won't have to wait long since there will be some very soon in Gagauzia and Transnistria. Transnistria is holding elections (unrecognized by Chișinău) for its local legislature (the Supreme Soviet) ...

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Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 4d

... reflection on some of these issues, RFI's Moldova Zoom podcast recently spoke with a journalist from Zona de Securitate (a portal dealing with Transnistria), who made some excellent points (rfi.fr/ro/republica...)

Irina Tabaranu: „Transnistria e pe final de istorie. Chișinăul nu este, însă, pregătit să preia regiunea pro-rusă”

Regiunea transnistreană, pro-rusă, din estul Republicii Moldova este în pragul unei noi crize energetice, după ce Rusia nu a mai plătit pentru gazele pe care le livrează. După presiunile pentru deturn...

rfi.fr

Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 4d

... Anyway, there are academics and analysts who know a lot more about this topic than I do, but my reaction whenever there are discussions of Transnistrian collapse or reintegration is one of caution and a bit of dread. And, if you want to listen to a Romanian-language ...

Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 4d

... In an odd way, Chișinău has benefitted from this limbo in the reintegration process since it hasn't needed to deal with yet one more crisis (reintegrating Transnistria) while it tries to dedicate resources to the EU integration process...

Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 4d

... the reintegration process. I don't know what the solution here is, either. Some elites in Chișinău have often talked about the importance of demilitarization, democratization, and decriminalization, which are very long-term and necessary processes...

Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 4d

... This isn't to say that reintegration shouldn't happen. It's just to note that, even if Transnistria collapses or becomes more open to reintegration, it might be a short-term loss for Russia, but Moscow could certainly adapt and instrumentalize ...

Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 4d

... so imagine that a pro-Russian/centrist coalition comes to power in a few years as the reintegration process is ongoing and starts handing out even more concessions to Tiraspol that undermine Moldova's pro-EU domestic and foreign policy. ...

Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 4d

... and so on. Dealing with all of these issues, especially having to do so quickly in light of a crisis, will put a huge strain on Chișinău (and the EU, for that matter). Plus, there's no real consensus in Moldovan domestic politics about Transnistria, ...

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Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 4d

... an economic system dominated by one oligarch (Viktor Gushan), an infrastructure rooted in the widespread availability (until recently) of cheap/free Russian gas, a penitentiary system even worse than Moldova's, an educational system designed to brainwash students, ...

Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 4d

... this b/c we're talking about a region pumped with Russian propaganda for the last 35 years, hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens, the dire lack of human resources for the reintegration process (teachers, lawyers, police, etc.), the presence of the Russian military, ...

Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 4d

... Any form of reintegration with Moldova is going to be extremely challenging, will last a very long time, and will not be linear in the sense that the region is just going to slowly and confidently modernize and Europeanize. I say ...

Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 4d

... Yes, separatist forces losing power would be a good thing. But Moldova is less dependent on Transnistria now, so RU leverage has lost some of its cache, and reintegration can allow RU to refine those leverage instruments. ...

Cristian Canțâr @cristiancantir.bsky.social · 4d

A word of caution on optimism about Transnistria's possible reintegration with Moldova, in light of its current energy and economic crisis: it's not necessarily true that the end of the separatist regime, whatever that may mean, is a net loss for Russia's interests in Moldova...

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