Questionable credentials: Pro-Kremlin observers flock to Moldova’s parliamentary elections
Moldova’s parliamentary elections, which are currently underway, are being held amid unprecedented political pressure from Russia. One of the tools of this interference campaign involves an influx of “foreign observers” who had previously paid little attention to Moldova. Below, The Insider presents just a few of the most striking examples.
A neo-Nazi’s girlfriend and the Center for Geostrategic Studies (Serbia)
The director general of the Serbian Center for Geostrategic Studies (CGS), Dragana Trifković, was one of the individuals who requested accreditation for the elections. A letter signed by her was sent to Moldova’s Central Election Commission back on Aug. 6.
In her letter, the head of the Center claimed that the CGS is engaged in promoting democracy and the rule of law. The organization has written repeatedly about Moldova, including statements that most of the country’s citizens are “skeptical about the idea of European integration,” which was disproved by referendum results.
Trifković herself has previous experience as an international observer — for example, in the so-called Luhansk “People’s Republic” (or “LPR”) in 2015. Her personal archive contains many photos with pro-Russian separatists, including the neo-Nazi sadist Alexey Milchakov, founder of the Rusich Sabotage Assault Reconnaissance Group. (Milchakov is best known for posing with the severed ears of Ukrainian prisoners and with the severed heads of puppies he killed and ate.)