Shore Party: Russia’s Helper in Moldova

The Kremlin and criminal Ilan Shor have a common enemy: the pro-Western Moldovan government. Now the party of oligarchy is trying to disrupt the situation in the country.

The stronghold of Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor’s Shor party is only an hour’s drive from the capital Chisinau. Orhei is a town of about 20,000 people. Well-maintained green areas, clean sidewalks – everything seems to be in order here.

There are community supermarkets that provide groceries at reasonable prices to those in need. “Marishore” is the name of the necklace, meaning little apple. But Shore, who was mayor here from 2015 to 2019, still has many supporters.

Mixed opinions about Shore

Svetlana, who is looking for a job at one of Maryshore’s shops, says she has a good impression of Shore: “Because you can see what he has done for Orhe and the surrounding villages. You can see that he has something for the community. It has changed for the better.” Shore had built an amusement park outside the city, and admission to “Orehailand” was free.

However, Mihai, who works as a medical technician in Orhei, points out that Shor is a controversial figure. “My mother and my aunt enjoy shore parties, as do many teachers. I don’t know myself, I doubt it.”

Escape a billion dollar scam

In fact, the oligarch was involved in Moldova’s biggest bank fraud case. Damage to the country’s three largest commercial banks was approximately $1 billion. Eventually, the National Bank had to intervene and save Moldova from banking collapse.

“Shor organized the theft of a billion dollars. That is why each of us, young or old, must pay 500 euros to pay off the debt incurred by Mr. Shore,” explains former presidential adviser Serge Tofilat. Maya Chandu.

Only the pro-European government under Sandhu was finally able to prosecute Shore. The oligarch was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison and fled to Israel. He was previously under the protection of Vladimir Blahotniuk, another oligarch who controlled political power in the country until 2019.

A common enemy of Shor and Putin’s government

Now Schor, together with the rest of his party friends, organizes protests against the pro-European government-in-exile in Orhei. The protests began after Russia cut gas supplies to Moldova, raising energy prices and inflation.

“We could see that the interests of Ilan Shor, who wanted to escape justice, coincided with Russia’s interest in destabilizing the country and preventing Moldova from continuing its pro-European trend,” explains Moldovan investigative journalist Daniela Galmish.

Together with three colleagues of the newspaper “Giarul di Garda”, he was able to demonstrate the so-called protests by the Shore party. In Orhei, participants were specifically recruited and paid for this.

They held protests

She managed to infiltrate there in a covert operation. They were taken by bus from Orhei to the capital Chisinau and received $20 for it. During the trip, he was told not to speak to the press under any circumstances.

“They also told us what slogans to shout,” says Kalmish. “Then when we protested in Chisinau, the organizers sometimes came and shouted loudly, ‘Bring down Maia Sandhu’. ‘What are we paying you for?’

Orhei Mayor Pavel Verejanu reduces payments. He is also a member of the Shore Party and has good connections with the fugitive oligarchy. Shore agreed to pay, but the money was meant to be given to demonstrators. “For a slice of pizza and two bottles of water.” Shore “doesn’t want to send out anyone dying of hunger and thirst,” Verejanu said.

“Shor Takes Advantage of Tough Economic Conditions”

Moldovan political scientist Ian Tabirta sees paid protests as a dangerous game. The Shore Party ultimately works in Russia’s interests and exploits the people’s difficult economic situation to do so.

“Russia is trying to find ways to destabilize the social and political situation in Moldova,” says Tabirta. “Pro-Russian forces can be seen especially in the Shore party.” It is an oligarch-led, opportunistic party that wants to stop reforms and whose interests align with those of Russia.

If the economic condition of the people affected by 30 percent high inflation does not improve significantly, the scheme may work. Because despite all concerns about oligarchy, even Shore Party opponents could join the protests.

“The protests that are happening now should have started earlier,” Nikolaj says. He doesn’t support Shore at all – but what he does is still right. “Everyone is fed up with this government. Let’s pray to God to get rid of it.”