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Moldova Comes in From the Cold

Today, the “color revolutions” that brought democracy to Ukraine and Georgia a few years ago seem to be out of fashion, and consolidation of authoritarian regimes appears to be the prevailing trend nowadays. But one year after Moldova's Communists tried to steal an election, a democratic government is in power and pressing ahead with efforts to join the EU.

CHISINAU – Today, “color revolutions,” which a few years ago were seen as promising developments in the post-Soviet space, seem to be out of fashion. Around the world, disappointment with democracy promotion is widespread. Instead, consolidation of authoritarian regimes appears to be the prevailing trend.

Roughly a year ago, Moldova, a country few know about, seemed to confirm this. On April 7, 2009, Moldova made headlines when peaceful protests against unfair elections were hijacked by a small number of provocateurs who attacked the parliament building and presidential palace.

The media termed this the “Twitter Revolution,” which was of course an exaggeration. Yet one year later, and despite the actions of those provocateurs, a new democratic government is in charge. The parliament building is not yet rebuilt, but the government is trying hard to rebuild Moldova as a democratic country with legitimate aspirations to join the European Union.

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