Cristian Canțâr
@cristiancantir.bsky.social
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
Here's a useful shortcut for figuring out what parties in the Moldovan parliament support a permissive environment for the spread of Russian propaganda. Parliament took a vote to denounce an agreement with Russia on cultural centers. The majority PAS voted to denounce, ...
November 13, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Here's a useful shortcut for figuring out what parties in the Moldovan parliament support a permissive environment for the spread of Russian propaganda. Parliament took a vote to denounce an agreement with Russia on cultural centers. The majority PAS voted to denounce, ...
What propaganda narratives were most visible on YouTube during the campaign for the Sep. 28 Moldovan election? A Moldovan NGO has put together a long report to answer this question, which also includes excellent visuals illustrating themes like claims of censorship, fraud, ...
November 3, 2025 at 4:54 PM
What propaganda narratives were most visible on YouTube during the campaign for the Sep. 28 Moldovan election? A Moldovan NGO has put together a long report to answer this question, which also includes excellent visuals illustrating themes like claims of censorship, fraud, ...
... out of 56 votes cast, PDA actually won with 15 votes, followed by PAS (14) and the Patriotic Bloc (14). I know this one is a minor example, but I think PAS should be trying to figure out what happened in a lot of these localities and investigate whether it's a long-term ...
October 8, 2025 at 1:08 PM
... out of 56 votes cast, PDA actually won with 15 votes, followed by PAS (14) and the Patriotic Bloc (14). I know this one is a minor example, but I think PAS should be trying to figure out what happened in a lot of these localities and investigate whether it's a long-term ...
... For instance, in polling station 21/37 (Ruseștii Noi, the Ialoveni raion), out of about 1,362 valid ballots cast, PAS got 771 and PDA got 317. The Patriotic Bloc got 86 and Alternativa got 59. Another, more minor example: in the village of Veverița (the Ungheni raion) ...
October 8, 2025 at 1:08 PM
... For instance, in polling station 21/37 (Ruseștii Noi, the Ialoveni raion), out of about 1,362 valid ballots cast, PAS got 771 and PDA got 317. The Patriotic Bloc got 86 and Alternativa got 59. Another, more minor example: in the village of Veverița (the Ungheni raion) ...
Moldova's ruling pro-EU PAS undeniably won the Sep. 28 legisl. elections and Moldovans supported the continuation of EU integration efforts. If I were PAS, though, I'd still pay attention to a few worrying trends in the election results. First, results in Gagauzia ...
October 6, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Moldova's ruling pro-EU PAS undeniably won the Sep. 28 legisl. elections and Moldovans supported the continuation of EU integration efforts. If I were PAS, though, I'd still pay attention to a few worrying trends in the election results. First, results in Gagauzia ...
Russian propaganda not taking the pro-EU PAS victory in Moldova's legislative elections well and doing some amusing mental gymnastics to cope with reality. Izvestia says that PAS has lost seats in parliament (but forgets to mention in the headline that it kept its majority), ...
September 29, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Russian propaganda not taking the pro-EU PAS victory in Moldova's legislative elections well and doing some amusing mental gymnastics to cope with reality. Izvestia says that PAS has lost seats in parliament (but forgets to mention in the headline that it kept its majority), ...
If you want to do a deep dive into the various possible government outcomes of the Moldovan legisl. election after Sep. 28, both in terms of potential coalitions and policy agreements/divergence on foreign policy, national symbols, Transnistria, energy issues, ...
September 27, 2025 at 7:50 PM
If you want to do a deep dive into the various possible government outcomes of the Moldovan legisl. election after Sep. 28, both in terms of potential coalitions and policy agreements/divergence on foreign policy, national symbols, Transnistria, energy issues, ...
If you see Russian propaganda channels reporting that Moldova is banning U.S. observers from the Sep. 28 legislative election, as TASS claims (see screenshot), this story is a helpful account of who these "observers" really are (nashvillebanner.com/2023/09/29/l...).
September 25, 2025 at 12:07 PM
If you see Russian propaganda channels reporting that Moldova is banning U.S. observers from the Sep. 28 legislative election, as TASS claims (see screenshot), this story is a helpful account of who these "observers" really are (nashvillebanner.com/2023/09/29/l...).
Lots of Russian propaganda about Moldova in the last few days, as expected. A couple of snapshots illustrating how aggressive rhetoric has gotten. The first one is from Russia 1 TV, which just openly claims Europe is getting ready to occupy Moldova. The second one is from ...
September 24, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Lots of Russian propaganda about Moldova in the last few days, as expected. A couple of snapshots illustrating how aggressive rhetoric has gotten. The first one is from Russia 1 TV, which just openly claims Europe is getting ready to occupy Moldova. The second one is from ...
Playing around with RFE/RL's vote simulator and here's what a "golden vote" outcome would look like: PAS would fall just one vote short of the legislative majority. Lest you think this is a crazy outcome, Moldova has had at least two golden vote episodes in its history: ...
September 21, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Playing around with RFE/RL's vote simulator and here's what a "golden vote" outcome would look like: PAS would fall just one vote short of the legislative majority. Lest you think this is a crazy outcome, Moldova has had at least two golden vote episodes in its history: ...
How have Moldovans in Transnistria voted in Moldova's elections since independence, and what's been the attitude of separatist authorities? ADEPT, one of Moldova's leading think tanks, has a great history of polling stations opened for Moldovans living in Transnistria...
September 11, 2025 at 1:06 PM
How have Moldovans in Transnistria voted in Moldova's elections since independence, and what's been the attitude of separatist authorities? ADEPT, one of Moldova's leading think tanks, has a great history of polling stations opened for Moldovans living in Transnistria...
Happy Romanian Language Day! Celebrating by remembering Albinuța, a huge part of my childhood (and the childhood of Romanian speakers in Moldova since the 1980s until today). Still have an edition of the book.
August 31, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Happy Romanian Language Day! Celebrating by remembering Albinuța, a huge part of my childhood (and the childhood of Romanian speakers in Moldova since the 1980s until today). Still have an edition of the book.
Having too much fun reading asset statements by pro-Russian politicians running in the legisl. election in Moldova. Two favorite finds so far. First, Irina Vlah got a hilarious amount of cash for her 50th birthday, and a Socialist candidate has a 15,000-Euro watch, ...
August 28, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Having too much fun reading asset statements by pro-Russian politicians running in the legisl. election in Moldova. Two favorite finds so far. First, Irina Vlah got a hilarious amount of cash for her 50th birthday, and a Socialist candidate has a 15,000-Euro watch, ...
On Moldova's independence day, here's one of my favorite MD stamps, which symbolizes the country's break from Moscow: an old Soviet stamp with an overprint of grapes and the name "Moldova" on it (the stamp is from 1992). Source: my own copy of the post office's stamp catalog.
August 27, 2025 at 5:51 AM
On Moldova's independence day, here's one of my favorite MD stamps, which symbolizes the country's break from Moscow: an old Soviet stamp with an overprint of grapes and the name "Moldova" on it (the stamp is from 1992). Source: my own copy of the post office's stamp catalog.
First Moldova book haul from a couple of bookstores, plus an old Romanian translation of Braudel I found around my parents' house that'll travel back to Michigan with me.
August 25, 2025 at 8:36 PM
First Moldova book haul from a couple of bookstores, plus an old Romanian translation of Braudel I found around my parents' house that'll travel back to Michigan with me.
The easiest way to check out candidate symbols and electoral lists for the Moldovan legislative election is www.alegeri.md, which is run by the Adept think tank. One logo made me laugh because it illustrates how rushed the pro-Russian electoral bloc was ...
August 22, 2025 at 6:47 AM
The easiest way to check out candidate symbols and electoral lists for the Moldovan legislative election is www.alegeri.md, which is run by the Adept think tank. One logo made me laugh because it illustrates how rushed the pro-Russian electoral bloc was ...
Russian propaganda outlets mad at Ukraine for celebrating Romanian Language Day on August 31 (RO and Moldova already celebrate it). An NG article, entitled "Bucharest has forced Kyiv to speak Romanian," says the move seeks to secure RO's support for UA fighting Russia and ...
August 11, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Russian propaganda outlets mad at Ukraine for celebrating Romanian Language Day on August 31 (RO and Moldova already celebrate it). An NG article, entitled "Bucharest has forced Kyiv to speak Romanian," says the move seeks to secure RO's support for UA fighting Russia and ...
Some electoral propaganda: the pro-Russian PSRM, the biggest pro-RU group in Moldova, handing out these flyers in downtown Chișinău, which mostly celebrate the new pro-RU bloc and quote praise from pro-RU commentators like Dmitri Ciubashenko. 450,000 copies have been printed.
August 11, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Some electoral propaganda: the pro-Russian PSRM, the biggest pro-RU group in Moldova, handing out these flyers in downtown Chișinău, which mostly celebrate the new pro-RU bloc and quote praise from pro-RU commentators like Dmitri Ciubashenko. 450,000 copies have been printed.
And one more example of pro-Russian fugitive oligarch Ilan Șor and the Kremlin using money to undermine Moldova's democracy: police documented dozens of people getting money to protest in front of the prison hosting Gagauz governor Evghenia Guțul (a Șor ally), who was ...
August 10, 2025 at 11:19 AM
And one more example of pro-Russian fugitive oligarch Ilan Șor and the Kremlin using money to undermine Moldova's democracy: police documented dozens of people getting money to protest in front of the prison hosting Gagauz governor Evghenia Guțul (a Șor ally), who was ...
O poezie din Chișinău.
August 8, 2025 at 11:43 AM
O poezie din Chișinău.
Moldova's linguistic ambiguities in one picture. This is Sfântul Andrei street. The sign says "Sv," which is probably meant to say "sveatoy" in Russian but in Latin script. Then the "n" is inverted (it's a Russian "i") and I don't know what's happening with the "d." Source: ...
August 7, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Moldova's linguistic ambiguities in one picture. This is Sfântul Andrei street. The sign says "Sv," which is probably meant to say "sveatoy" in Russian but in Latin script. Then the "n" is inverted (it's a Russian "i") and I don't know what's happening with the "d." Source: ...
In Moldova, Gagauz governor Evghenia Guțul's sentencing to 7 years in prison is spurring developments in political fashion. Mihail Vlah, Guțul's adviser, is on GRT wearing a shirt with the governor's face on it that says (in Russian) "Leader. Patriot" ...
August 6, 2025 at 11:54 AM
In Moldova, Gagauz governor Evghenia Guțul's sentencing to 7 years in prison is spurring developments in political fashion. Mihail Vlah, Guțul's adviser, is on GRT wearing a shirt with the governor's face on it that says (in Russian) "Leader. Patriot" ...
An update: 3 pro-Russian parties (incl. the biggest one, PSRM) have submitted paperwork for a new bloc. Unclear what PCRM (which also said it would join) is doing. My guess is that the first order of business for the bloc is to buy a bigger table...
July 29, 2025 at 1:15 PM
An update: 3 pro-Russian parties (incl. the biggest one, PSRM) have submitted paperwork for a new bloc. Unclear what PCRM (which also said it would join) is doing. My guess is that the first order of business for the bloc is to buy a bigger table...
The new pro-Russian bloc in Moldova held a rally today. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, but I want to highlight a banner since it shows how pro-RU messaging now dovetails with far-right rhetoric in the U.S. and the EU: "Down with the Sorosist and globalist government" ...
July 26, 2025 at 1:36 PM
The new pro-Russian bloc in Moldova held a rally today. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, but I want to highlight a banner since it shows how pro-RU messaging now dovetails with far-right rhetoric in the U.S. and the EU: "Down with the Sorosist and globalist government" ...
This joke, posted by WatchDog director Valeriu Pașa on FB, is a great opportunity to talk about some Moldovan political lore (and Soviet-era soda drinks). The picture says that this is the electoral symbol of the Left Bloc (the pro-Russian bloc recently announced ...
July 23, 2025 at 3:08 PM
This joke, posted by WatchDog director Valeriu Pașa on FB, is a great opportunity to talk about some Moldovan political lore (and Soviet-era soda drinks). The picture says that this is the electoral symbol of the Left Bloc (the pro-Russian bloc recently announced ...