- Статьи
- World
- Autumn aggravation: in Moldova, the closure of the Russian House may be launched in November
Autumn aggravation: in Moldova, the closure of the Russian House may be launched in November
The Moldovan authorities may launch the process of closing the Russian House in November. To do this, they are going to denounce the agreement on cultural centers, according to which it operates, MP Bohdan Tsyrdea told Izvestia. In Rossotrudnichestvo, Izvestia was informed that no legal statements have yet been received from Moldova on this issue. Now the Russian House continues to work in the republic, albeit in a limited format. The situation around the cultural center is escalating against the background of increasing anti—Russian rhetoric from the Moldovan authorities - they seek to sever all ties with Russia in order to speed up the process of joining the EU, experts believe.
Will the Russian House in Moldova be closed
Moldovan authorities may launch the process of closing the Russian House in November, MP Bogdan Tsyrdea told Izvestia. We are talking about the denunciation of the agreement, according to which the work of the cultural center is possible.
— Earlier, the authorities informed us that they intend to terminate the contract (according to which the Russian House operates in the republic. — Izvestia). By the end of October or November, they can already complete the termination procedure on their part. This means that the center's activities will probably be suspended sometime in November," he said.
In 1998, the Russian Federation and Moldova signed an intergovernmental agreement on the establishment and operation of cultural centers. They opened in Moscow and Chisinau. The Russian House in the Moldovan capital has been operating since February 2009. Russian Russian Language Organization promotes Russian culture, Russian education, preservation of historical heritage, as well as strengthening the position of the Russian language. Film screenings, exhibitions, and concerts are organized for this purpose.
In order to officially launch any procedures for the closure of the center, the Moldovan side must first send a notification of the termination of the agreement to the Russian side. Rossotrudnichestvo also informed Izvestia that there had been no legal statements from Chisinau regarding the denunciation of the agreement and the suspension of the center's work.
— We don't know anything about this legally. There is no legal closure process, it has not been launched, we have not received any document on this topic, nothing. Denunciation of the agreement, firstly, is not a quick process, and secondly, it is a serious step in relations between the two countries," they said.
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, previously stressed that if Chisinau receives an order to terminate the agreement, it will still remain in force until 2026.
The Russian House in Moldova is currently operating, but in a limited mode, Rossotrudnichestvo added. It sometimes still hosts various cultural events.
In February 2025, the Moldovan Foreign Ministry announced its withdrawal from the agreement with the Russian Federation on the functioning of cultural centers. The ministry then reported that the decision was made in response to the alleged violation of the republic's airspace by Russian drones. The Russian Ambassador to Moldova, Oleg Ozerov, then called Chisinau's accusations groundless.
Chisinau stressed that the process of denouncing the agreement would take a long time. "We are waiting for our colleagues from the Ministry of Culture to send the draft decision to the government. After that, it should be sent to Parliament. Then, after informing the Russian side, according to the agreement, it will take several months," emphasized the head of the republic's Foreign Ministry, Mihai Popsoi.
Radical steps can now be expected in terms of denunciation of the agreement by the Moldovan authorities, especially after the victory of the ruling party in the last parliamentary elections, HSE analyst Nicole Bodisteanu said in an interview with Izvestia.
People voting in the parliamentary elections
— The Russian House has been closed for several years, but so far only at the level of rhetoric. Now it is quite expected that Chisinau will decide on this step," she says.
Increasing Russophobia in Moldova
On September 28, parliamentary elections were held in the republic, in which the ruling pro-presidential Action and Solidarity Party (PDS) won with a minimal advantage. Initially, she came to power in 2021, after which she almost immediately took a course towards rapprochement with the West and began to adhere to anti-Russian rhetoric. Later, the PDS promised the Moldovan people to ensure the country's accession to the EU in 2028. At the last referendum on joining the EU in 2024, supporters of European integration turned out to be not much more than its opponents (the difference in opinion was only 0.7%, or 10,564 votes). In any case, anti-Russian rhetoric will radically increase in the republic now, Bogdan Tsyrdea believes.
— In order to achieve European integration by 2028, as our authorities plan, they must manage to sever all ties with the Russian Federation as much as possible in an accelerated format. This is a requirement of the European Union," the Moldovan politician said.
After the outbreak of the Ukrainian conflict, dozens of Russian diplomats were expelled from Moldova. The republic has also joined 80% of European sanctions against Russia, despite the fact that this has caused damage to local residents. The prices of petroleum products, gas and electricity jumped sharply in the country, which provoked an energy crisis, followed by an economic one. The republic has abandoned Russian gas, starting to buy it from European suppliers at higher prices.
Now the authorities should expect a complete abandonment of trade with Russia, said Bogdan Tsyrdea.
— Our authorities will do everything to stop all commercial transactions with the Russian Federation. A complete refusal to participate in the CIS treaties is also possible," the parliamentarian believes.
As of July 2025, Moldova has withdrawn from about 140 CIS agreements, but continues to be a party to 210 documents, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Chisinau is intensifying anti-Russian rhetoric not only in political and economic terms, but also in humanitarian terms, which is particularly affecting ordinary Moldovan citizens. In 2022, the republic's direct flights to Russia were suspended. Recall that the largest Moldovan diaspora lives in Russia — over 300 thousand people.
"At the domestic level, the authorities are already punishing any ties with Russia in every possible way, from fines for wearing the St. George ribbon to cuts in funding for Russian—language schools," Nicole Bodisteanu said.
In 2021, the Constitutional Court overturned the law that gave Russian the status of a language of international communication. It is worth emphasizing that more than half of the citizens are fluent in it, and 11% of the republic's residents consider it their native language.
Russian Russian language and Russian schools are now being restricted to the maximum extent possible. In the future, the Russian language may be banned. Propagandists are already asking on social media why some schools teach in Russian," said Tsyrdya.
In recent years, Chisinau has been putting pressure on the hierarchs of the Orthodox Church of Moldova to sever ties with the Moscow Patriarchate and move to the Archdiocese of Bessarabia. At the same time, more than 85% of the republic's population belongs to the Orthodox Church of Moldova.
There are still politicians in Moldova who advocate strengthening ties with the Russian Federation. During the election campaigns in 2024 and 2025, they were subjected to all the pressure of official Chisinau. One of the most high-profile cases was the verdict of the Bashkan of Gagauzia, Evgenia Gutsul, who repeatedly advocated rapprochement with the Russian Federation. Chisinau has repeatedly threatened the autonomy, which does not support the course of the ruling elites and votes against the Action and Solidarity party, with budget cuts and the abolition of the autonomy's status.
Relations have also worsened with Transnistria, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is located. In April 2023, a series of terrorist attacks took place in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), which involved the Moldovan special services, said the President of the PMR Vadim Krasnoselsky. In 2025, Transnistria faced an energy blockade after the termination of gas transit through Ukraine and after Chisinau blocked the supply of natural gas to its territory. Gas supplies were not fully established with the help of Hungarian MET Gas at the expense of a Russian loan.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
