Sunday's electoral contest between pro-Russian and pro-Western forces in
Moldova has taken on an unprecedented, wider significance in the shadow
of the crisis in neighbouring Ukraine.
The former Soviet republic's governing pro-Western coalition is seeking closer ties with the European Union, but the Russian government is seen as piling on the pressure to sway Moldovans to change course.
In the summer, Moldova - along with Ukraine and Georgia - signed an association agreement on political and economic relations with the European Union. This angered Russia, which has called on Moldova to postpone the implementation of the free trade part of the deal, as Ukraine has since agreed to do.
Moscow says it is worried by a flood of cheap EU goods affecting its producers, but some observers believe its goal is to assert what it sees as Russia's natural sphere of influence in the post-Soviet region.
Read more: BBC News - Moldova election: Will voters choose EU or Putin?
The former Soviet republic's governing pro-Western coalition is seeking closer ties with the European Union, but the Russian government is seen as piling on the pressure to sway Moldovans to change course.
In the summer, Moldova - along with Ukraine and Georgia - signed an association agreement on political and economic relations with the European Union. This angered Russia, which has called on Moldova to postpone the implementation of the free trade part of the deal, as Ukraine has since agreed to do.
Moscow says it is worried by a flood of cheap EU goods affecting its producers, but some observers believe its goal is to assert what it sees as Russia's natural sphere of influence in the post-Soviet region.
Read more: BBC News - Moldova election: Will voters choose EU or Putin?
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