The project is called "Evrazia" and was founded by Nelli Parutenco, a former accountant at the Orhei City Hall during Șor's tenure as mayor. Having fled to Moscow in 2022 to avoid an investigation into the alleged illegal financing of the former Șor Party, Parutenco is the official director of the non-governmental organization.
Europa Libera counted more than 10 trips to Moscow organized in the last three months by "Evrazia" for young people from Moldova and other former Soviet republics.
Journalists from Europa Libera managed to infiltrate a closed Telegram chat, where around 30 young people and administrators from Șor's organization had gathered. They were preparing for a new visit to Moscow as part of the program called "Let's Know Russia," from June 21 to 24.
Participants were asked to complete an online questionnaire in Russian. In addition to personal data, they were asked to choose one or more of the "Evrazia" projects they would like to participate in: obtaining a grant, becoming "ambassadors of Eurasia," enrolling in the organization's media school, or becoming politicians.
Tours in Red Square and Meetings with "Experts"
In a private discussion, the program coordinator with the username Afanasii specified that although the tour would be "gastronomic," participants would need to "not only eat" but also "actively participate and show interest."
Although the journalists from Europa Libera did not register for the trip, they were allowed to stay in the chat, where the list of participants and their personal data were published: passport numbers, expiration dates, and phone numbers. In total, 26 young people from Moldova, two from Uzbekistan, and one from Tajikistan registered.
With the trip's costs fully covered by the organizers, some participants asked if there were any "hidden conditions." Afanasii, the chat administrator, assured them that it was sufficient to go to Moscow and "actively participate" in the program's activities. "There are no other conditions," he said.
The program appeared in the conversation four days before departure. Upon arrival, participants were accommodated in a four-star hotel in northern Moscow, "Alliance Borodino." The next day, they went on a tour of "Skolkovo Technopark," home to IT companies affiliated with the Russian government.
Further plans included tours of Red Square, several parks in central Moscow, and a culinary master class at a restaurant. The third day included a "meeting with an expert," whose name was not specified in the program. Judging by the organization's Telegram posts published a few days after the visit, it was Alexei Samoilov, who is presented by the Russian press as an expert and analyst.
He leads the "Other Ukraine" movement and promotes the idea that "Ukraine does not have its own nation," and that the purpose of Russia's war against Ukraine is "to reach the borders of the Ukrainian SSR."
Previous "Evrazia" events have also included more well-known supporters of the "Russian world": philosopher Alexander Dugin and political scientist Sergei Markov.
The latter launched a false claim about Moldova in the early days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Markov claimed that the Romanian army was "already stationed" on the territory of the Republic of Moldova and that Romania, with NATO and Ukrainian army support, "intends to invade Transnistria."
Promoting the Eurasian Development Direction
Several participants in this visit agreed to speak with Europe Libera under the condition of anonymity. They reported that the organizers were strongly encouraging participants to apply for a grant, which "Evrazia" "would definitely finance."
Europa Libera found the complete list of projects selected for funding by the organization following an "initial" grant competition called "Eurasia - the Continent of Possibilities."
At least 13 of these projects (out of a total of 73) are from young people in Moldova, proposing, for example, to organize a "marathon" of films, repair monuments of soldiers fallen in World War II, and open a support center for mothers of children with disabilities.
1 Million Rubles ($11,600) for Each Project
The complete list of projects selected for funding by "Evrazia" following an "initial" grant competition called "Eurasia - the Continent of Possibilities."
Other young people told Europa Libera that they were encouraged to promote "Russian culture and the Eurasian development direction" in their countries, becoming "ambassadors of Eurasia."
The "Eurasia Ambassadors" project was supposed to be launched in Chișinău at the end of last week. The event was organized by the youth wing of the "Renaissance" Party, known in Moldova as affiliated with Ilan Șor, which became active after the Șor Party was outlawed. The leader of "Renaissance," Natalia Parasca, is also a member of the "Evrazia" board of directors.
The Leader of the "Renaissance" Party, Close to Șor, Natalia Parasca, Together with the Official Representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova
The event was canceled after Armenian blogger Mika Badalian, who was supposed to come to Chișinău to launch the project, was not allowed to enter Moldova by the Border Police.
Badalian is part of the leadership of the "Evrazia" organization, alongside Russian State Duma deputy Aliona Arshinova, with a political background in Tiraspol.
He is known for his pro-Russian stance and collaborates with Russian state agencies Russia Today and Sputnik, which are banned in Moldova and several European countries. In September 2023, he was detained by Armenian security services for illegal arms trafficking.
Recruiting Young People
After a series of failures of Russian espionage and massive expulsions of "diplomats in epaulets" from European countries, Russian secret services have become more active, including through organizations, writes the Russian investigative publication "The Insider."
One such organization is the National Research Institute for the Development of Communications (NIIRK), led by former Russian secret service collaborators.
The institute organizes numerous conferences and internships in Europe and neighboring countries.
"There, pro-Kremlin propagandists indoctrinate the audience with the idea that the West is the enemy and that the path to prosperity lies through friendship with Russia. The focus is on promising students and young people from different countries who will eventually be used for espionage purposes," say "The Insider" journalists.
At one of the conferences outside Russia organized by NIIRK, former Moldovan President, socialist leader Igor Dodon, participated in June in Bratislava.
(Andrei Soșnicov, editor of the investigative project of Radio Svoboda "Sistema," contributed to this article.)
