THE EVENTS OF 2009 IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA: FORMATION OF A NEW POLITICAL SPACE

Abstract

The article is devoted to the assessment of the role of the so-called «color revolutions» in the post-Soviet states for the formation of new political spaces on their territories. The study focuses on the Republic of Moldova, which represents a unique case among the former Soviet republics. Throughout the whole period of independence of the Moldovan state, its society was polarized concerning a number of issues critical for the national strategy, namely nation building, and foreign policy orientation. The «Moldovanists» (supporters of the Moldovan statehood) and the «Romanianists», who saw the future of their country in merging with Romania and in wider sense with the EU, expressed two opposing tendencies. The economic depression and the lack of a well-thought-out modernization program have both prepared conditions for social upheaval in Moldova. In April 2009, the situation burst out into clashes of supporters of the current governance and the opposition in Chisinau due to the election results. Nevertheless, these events, which hastened to be called a «color revolution», did not have any significant consequences. Based on the comparative study of several case studies in Moldova and other post-Soviet republics (Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine), a number of criteria were identified, determining the progress of the revolutionary development and, respectively, the reconfiguration of political space. The absence of even one of these criteria in the structure of the protest leads to its unsuccessfulness.