The “Russkii mir” Foundation plays the role of promoter of Russian culture and Russian diplomacy both in the Republic of Moldova and in other countries. The policy of the fund in our country aims to create and finance the personnel specially engaged in promoting a positive image of Russia in the media.
Influence tool
The foundation promotes the idea that under the conditions of modern Moldova, the struggle with the past has become part of the country’s political life and thus leads to the “idea of a beautiful past” of Moldova as part of the USSR. Thus, a parallel can be drawn between the main objective of the foundation and the ideas promoted by its representatives.
The “Russkiy Mir” Foundation in Moldova has offices in Chisinau, Balti, Comrat and Tiraspol. It was created in 2007, by the decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The foundation is positioned as the largest non-profit organization in Russia, whose objective is to popularize the Russian language “as an important element of Russian and world culture”.
On the foundation’s website, in the section “About the organization”, information on the situation of the Russian language in Moldova, the Moldovan migrants from Russia is presented and special attention is paid to the “desperate” situation of the migrants. “Russkii mir” presents the information in such a way that it seems that Russia is the only way of saving for Moldovans.
“At home jobs for them are not. In the West, shaken by a new crisis, it is much more difficult to find a job than a few years ago. In Russia you will have to take only one Russian language test, which is now artificially excluded from all areas of public life in Moldova. ”
It should be noted that the money sent by Moldovans from abroad comes from the following three areas: EU, CIS countries and other countries. Transfers from CIS countries, according to data from August 2019, represent 22.5%. Thus, according to the NBM, the share of transfers from EU countries, which would be “shaken by the crisis”, is ¾ of all transfers made by Moldovans.
Misinformation tool
On the site “Russkii mir”, in the “news” section, materials are often published that aim to disinformation readers. The authors often operate with false, incomplete and intentionally distorted data to create a positive image for the authorities of the Russian Federation.
The most recent material of this kind was published on September 13, 2019 and is dedicated to sanctions against Russia. The pro-Kremlin media pays special attention to this subject and in all respects denotes statements from the international political arena, promoting the idea that some Baltic States are against anti-Russian sanctions.
Misinformation
The Finnish President, Sauli Niinistö, called the sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia unnecessary. He noted that, contrary to all forecasts and promises, Russia’s economy does not collapse under the pressure of sanctions, and this situation will not change in the future,
writes the “Russkii Mir” Foundation
Information published by “Russkii mir”, denied
Periodically, pro-Kremlin narratives promote the idea that EU member states want to end sanctions against Russia. The Russian press broke the statement of Finnish President Niinistö, who gave a speech at the YES forum, following the president of Ukraine. In his speech, Vladimir Zelensky called on European partners to maintain sanctions until Russia ceases aggression against Ukraine.
The President of Finland said only that negotiations with Russia on the Ukrainian issue require not only sanctions, but also other measures. Moreover, after the forum, Niinistö held a press conference for Finnish journalists who drew attention to the emergence of several fake news in Russia related to this topic. The President of Finland was surprised that his speech in Kiev was treated in this way. The official said his country would continue to insist on maintaining EU sanctions against Russia.
The foundation “Russkii mir” was created by the decree of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin in 2007 and provided funding until 2015. In June 2015, the decree was extended until 2020. 750 million rubles were allocated annually to fund the foundation, the equivalent of 202.5 million lei.