Moldova and Romania Concerned About Future in Midst of Crisis in Ukraine

Citizens in Romania and Moldova are concerned about the crisis in Ukraine concerning the Crimean referendum and its impact on their future.

            Tudor Vlad, the associate director of the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research, University of Georgia professor, and Romanian by birth, spoke with UGA students Monday morning about the situation in Eastern Europe.

            “It creates a precedent,” he said, speaking of Crimea’s referendum declaring independence from Ukraine and the Russian military presence there.

            Countries in Eastern Europe are not homogenous, Vlad said, and this declaration causes worry in Moldova and Romania because of their regions that adhere to a different language and culture, just as Crimean citizens speak and identify as Russian.

            In Moldova, the region of Transnistria is particularly concerning because of its potential to secede, he said.