PM Munteanu welcomes government support for shutting down Russian Center in Chisinau
On Wednesday, November 5, the Government approved the termination of the Cultural Agreement with the Russian Federation. This decision supports actions to close the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Chisinau, which is regarded as "an instrument of hybrid influence by the Kremlin." Following the government’s approval, a vote will be held in Parliament. Afterward, the Russian side will be officially notified that the Republic of Moldova is withdrawing from the agreement.
The denunciation procedure was initiated by the Ministry of Culture at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Minister of Culture Cristian Jardan stated at a government meeting that, based on this agreement, the Russian Center for Science and Culture, also known as the Russian House (Ruskii Dom), was established in Chisinau in 2009. It is located on Al. Mateevici Str. at the corner of M. Eminescu.
Jardan mentioned that after Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24, 2022, along with the ongoing attempts to destabilize the Republic of Moldova and continuous information attacks from Moscow, “this agreement can be used as a tool for promoting distorted narratives by the Russian Federation, posing a risk to the information security of the Republic of Moldova and beyond.”
The minister noted that the center is financed and administered by Rossotrudnichestvo, a Russian agency directly subordinate to the president of Russia and managed by the Russian Foreign Ministry, which is currently under international sanctions. Jardan referred to it as “the main state agency projecting the Kremlin's soft power and hybrid influence, including the promotion of the so-called concept of Ruskii Mir.”
He emphasized that “the Russian Cultural Center was not cultural at all; it was a center under the guise of which activities were carried out to undermine the sovereignty of the Republic of Moldova.”
The agreement, signed in October 1998 and coming into force in July 2001, does not contain a mechanism for unilateral denunciation. It states that the agreement is automatically extended for successive five-year periods unless one party notifies the other in writing of its intention to terminate it at least six months before the expiration date, which is July 2026.
Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu described the launch of the termination procedures as “a welcome initiative that we have been anticipating for a long time.”
The authorities assert that terminating the agreement “will not lead to any consequences or risks that could affect the interests of the Republic of Moldova, and no political consequences or other risks are expected.”
This intention was announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Chisinau in February of this year and communicated to the Russian Ambassador to Chisinau, Oleg Ozerov, during a meeting at the Ministry in response to a violation of Moldova's airspace by Russian drones. According to Deputy Prime Minister Mihai Popșoi, closing the Russian Center for Science and Culture represents “an accepted political gesture to counter threats to national security.”
