INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
deepen cooperation with the West.The election interference patterns seen in Georgia, Romania and Moldova highlight a troubling reality for
the strongest in the world.In a joint article for the Financial Times, the heads of MI6 and the CIA warned Russia is intensifying its hybrid
oligarchs and puppet governments to control nations through corruption while suppressing civil society, independent media and political
Georgian Dream started as a pro-EU and Western liberal party but has in recent years pursued more illiberal policies and aligned itself more
while the Georgian elections were marred by an uneven playing field, the legal framework was deemed sufficient to uphold the credibility of
the results.Supporters of Calin Georgescu react during a protest after Romania's electoral body rejected his candidacy in the presidential
election rerun in Bucharest.Andreea Alexandru / AP / TASSIn Romania, Georgescu, a previously little-known ultra-nationalist, managed to win
the first round of the presidential election with 23% despite earlier polls projecting him to receive single digits.Declassified Romanian
targeting vulnerabilities in information systems
due to allegations that he violated laws against extremism
The rerun of the presidential election is set for May.Amid the fallout, the government has decided to expel two Russian diplomats in
connection to the widespread interference efforts.And in Moldova, incumbent president Maia Sandu won re-election by almost 20%, while an EU
referendum passed by a tiny margin of around 1%.Moldovan officials estimate that Moscow poured $100 million into its efforts to influence
the election and referendum outcomes in 2024
Ilan Shor, a fugitive Moldovan oligarch now living in Moscow, funded operations with the support of the Kremlin by funneling money directly
disinformation campaign, stoking fears of war if the referendum passes and falsely claiming that Brussels aims to brainwash children into
becoming gay or transgender.Russia appears to have increasingly adopted this form of hybrid warfare ever since widespread reports of
Moscow's efforts to influence the 2016 U.S
presidential election.Now, the timing is especially advantageous for Moscow
The rise of right-wing populists who are generally more sympathetic towards Russia, combined with U.S
speech on social media platforms like X and Facebook has only accelerated and complicated efforts to form a united front against
right, but on the other hand, it is used for the wrong ends so many times and makes legislation and countermeasures for the government very
