# Moldova > [!info] Gateway page > One of the fifteen former Soviet republics compared at [[Post-Soviet States]]. **Moldova** is the clearest current case of a former Soviet republic leaving Moscow's orbit by election — narrowly, against documented Russian vote-buying, and with Russian troops still stationed on its territory in the breakaway region of [[Transnistria]]. | Item | Detail | |---|---| | Independence | 27 August 1991 | | Head of state | President [[Maia Sandu]], re-elected in the 3 November 2024 runoff | | Head of government | Prime Minister Vasile Tofan, elected by parliament 21 July 2026 | | EU | Candidate since 2022; first negotiating clusters opened 15 June and 14 July 2026 | | CIS | Leaving — parliament voted 2 April 2026; exit final in April 2027 | | Neutrality | Permanent neutrality written into the constitution; NATO partner since 1994 | | Russian forces | Roughly 1,200–1,500 troops of the Operational Group of Russian Forces in Transnistria, plus about 430 "peacekeepers" | | Population | About 2.37 million (January 2026, excluding Transnistria) | ## The narrow margins **The October 2024 referendum** on writing EU membership into the constitution passed with 50.35%. In the same cycle, a vote-buying network linked to the oligarch Ilan Shor moved about $39 million to more than 130,000 voters through a sanctioned Russian bank, PBS reported. **The September 2025 parliamentary election** was the decisive test. Sandu's PAS won 50.20% and 55 of 101 seats; the pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc took 24.20% and 26 seats. Two days before the vote, two parties — Heart of Moldova and Greater Moldova — were removed from the ballot over illegal foreign financing. **Governing has been less stable than winning.** Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu resigned abruptly on 3 July 2026, eight months into the job; Tofan, a financier, replaced him. ## Transnistria The Russian garrison in Transnistria is one of the frozen-conflict deployments Russia keeps across the former Soviet space. Two things changed it after 2024. First, Russian gas to Transnistria stopped on 1 January 2025 when Ukraine's transit contract expired and Moscow chose not to reroute it; the region survived the winter on EU-funded gas from 1 February 2025. Second, on 16 April 2026 Moldova declared the Russian group's commander, Dmitry Zelenkov, and other senior officers persona non grata. The troops remain; their supply line runs through territory Moscow does not control. ## Where it stands with Moscow Pulling away, in law and in votes: EU negotiating clusters opened, CIS exit filed, the Russian garrison's commanders declared persona non grata. What has not changed is the margin — the 2024 referendum was decided by about 0.7 points. See [[Russian Influence]] for the vote-buying model, which Moldova documented at a scale no EU member has. ## See Also - [[Post-Soviet States]] — all fifteen former republics compared - [[Ukraine]] - [[Russian Influence]] - [[Maia Sandu]] - [[Transnistria]] - [[European Union]]