This episode is part of a 3 part mini-series with guest George Teodorescu looking at the first Alliance for Europe. This series will cover the still murky events of April 2009, the rise of the first pro-European coalition government and the collapse of that government following the Theft of the Billion and subsequent rise of Plahotniuc.This episode covers events around the Theft of the Billion and subsequent collapse of the coalition government called the Alliance for European Integration. We follow the rise of Plahotniuc and reflect on what this whole time period means today. If you’re finding Moldova Matters for the first time through this podcast then consider signing up for the Moldova Matters newsletter at https://moldovamatters.substack.com

This episode is part of a 3 part mini-series with guest George Teodorescu looking at the first Alliance for Europe. This series will cover the still murky events of April 2009, the rise of the first pro-European coalition government and the collapse of that government following the Theft of the Billion and subsequent rise of Plahotniuc.This episode covers the creation of the first Alliance for European Integration and the successes and failures of that coalition government. We start with the long process of Voronin and the Communists beginning their exit from the scene and the appearance of a number of figures who would foreshadow future political twists and turns. If you’re finding Moldova Matters for the first time through this podcast then consider signing up for the Moldova Matters newsletter at https://moldovamatters.substack.com

This episode is part of a 3 part mini-series with guest George Teodorescu looking at the first Alliance for Europe. This series will cover the still murky events of April 2009, the rise of the first pro-European coalition government and the collapse of that government following the Theft of the Billion and subsequent rise of Plahotniuc.This first episode covers April 2009 and the events that eventually led to the downfall of former President Voronin’s Communist Party and the rise of the coalition Alliance for Europe government. If you’re finding Moldova Matters for the first time through this podcast then consider signing up for the Moldova Matters newsletter at https://moldovamatters.substack.com

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In this episode I talk with Dr. William H Hill about the Transnistrian War and subsequent attempts to resolve the conflict and reunite Moldova. Dr. Hill is a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center and served as the Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova from 2003 to 2006 and from 1999 to 2001 where he participated in the two major efforts at brokering a resolution to the conflict. 

It’s a long episode but one that is really worth listening to end to end. Dr. Hill had a front row seat to major events in Moldovan history and personally interacted with many of the key players in this frozen conflict. 

I tried to define / explain key terms as we went through but here are a few things to understand before listening: 

* Right Bank / Left Bank - These terms are used to refer to the parts of Moldova controlled by Chisinau and Tiraspol (Transnistria). The term references the sides of the Nistru river from the perspective of the direction of flow of the river. The Right Bank refers to the parts of Moldova controlled by the Chisinau government, and the Left Bank refers to Transnistria. 

* CSCE / OSCE - These acronyms refer to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and its predecessor the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe

As Dr. Hill lives in the DC Metro area, we held this conversation over zoom. There are a few areas where the audio quality has some issues and Dr. Hill’s cat and my dogs make a few guest appearances. But overall this first test of a remote recording went well and you shouldn’t notice many issues. 

If you’re finding Moldova Matters for the first time through this podcast then consider signing up for the Moldova Matters newsletter at https://moldovamatters.substack.com/.

Links: 

Dr. Hill’s biography at the Wilson Center

Moldova Matters article about the April 2023 incident in the security zone referenced in the podcast

In part 2 of my conversation with guest Vlad Șuleanschi we look at the outbreak of the full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine as seen from Moldova. Vlad and I discuss the initial shock and disbelief of those days in late February and then talk about how Moldova rallied to the challenge of a massive refugee crisis. In our discussion we spend some time talking about our own experience with the refugee relief effort and the joint effort we participated in. We also try and look at the broader context of war and insecurity that casts a shadow over Moldova to this day. On a personal note: Our small part of this, headquartered at our closed restaurant Smokehouse and bringing together Peace Corps Moldova, The Friends of Moldova and the Moldova Small Enterprise Alliance will be an experience Vlad and I will never forget. In a podcast like this there was no time to do proper shout-outs to the dozens of incredible people who made this effort possible. You know who you are and you know how much we came to value your friendship and partnership during these hard times.

Hi Everyone, I’m sorry it’s been a little while since I updated the Moldova Matters podcast. I’ve been working on a series of episodes on the major events of recent Moldovan history that got us to the place we’re at today in 2024. In each episode I’ll be talking to a guest who brings expertise or a unique perspective to the discussion. In this first episode I talk to my former business partner and long time friend Vlad Șuleanschi. Vlad and I talk about the war in Ukraine and how it was felt and understood in Moldova. Originally this was planned as one 45 minute episode... but the conversation went a lot longer than that so I’ve decided to break it into 2 episodes. In Part 1 we talk about Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and the events connecting that original beginning of the conflict to the full scale invasion of February 2022. In Part 2, which I’ll release tomorrow, we continue the discussion and follow the events of February 24th and our feelings and impressions in the days and weeks that followed.

In this episode I build on questions I tried to answer in the Q&A about the powers of the Moldovan president. I try not to make it too much of a civics lesson, but in the episode we’ll look at the various organs of power in the Moldovan State, how they interact and how they are still evolving. Specifically I take a look at the constitutional tensions that have come up after the 2016 Constitutional Court decision which created a popularly elected presidency.

Take a listen and let me know what you think! I’m always interested in feedback as well as questions for a future Q&A.

I’ve decided to continue this podcast experiment as a new way to explore topics and questions that are easier in an audio format than in an article. In this short introduction I set out some goals for the new format as well as what you can expect from me going forward.

Hopefully (if I’ve figured all these settings out correctly) you’ll also start to see the Moldova Matters Podcast pop up in your favorite podcast apps over the next few days.

Feel free to reach out with suggestions for topics and questions you want me to include in future Q&A episodes!

- David

Hey everyone! here’s the promised test podcast where I answer your questions and try out something new!

Right off the bat, please forgive the background noise. I think I cleaned it up a bit but I’m sitting in my house out in a village on the Nistru and there are probably a bunch of bird sounds in the background. I hope it’s not too distracting.

For those who listen please send me some feedback afterwards! Leave comments, drop me an email, however you want to get in touch please do! I really want to hear if you like this format and find it useful. If so I’ll probably do more of these going forward.

Ok, without further ado please enjoy this first Moldova Matters Q&A podcast!