Victory (political bloc)

The Victory (Victorie, Победа, styled as Pobeda – Victorie) is a Moldovan pro-Russian and Moldovenist political bloc established by the fugitive Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor and his allied parties in Moscow, Russia on 21 April 2024.

History
The Victory bloc was officially founded by Ilan Shor on 21 April 2024 in Moscow, Russia, at a meeting at the Carlton Hotel. In addition to Shor, the agreement to create the bloc was signed by the Governor of Gagauzia Evghenia Guțul, as well as the leaders of the Revival, Chance, FASM and Victorie parties. The Victorie party, which shares the same name as the bloc, was founded in January 2024. Ilan Shor became the chairman of the bloc, Evghenia Guțul was elected executive secretary of the national political council, and MP Marina Tauber was elected secretary of the executive committee. According to the organizers and participants, this event was held in Russia because the opposition is persecuted in Moldova and arrests and searches are used against its activists and leaders. The Russian press called the meeting "a congress of Moldovan politicians who support Chișinău's accession to the EAEU", and Ilan Shor described the meeting on his social networks as "the unification of the Moldovan opposition". The meeting ended with a performance by Russian pop singers Nikolay Baskov and Philipp Kirkorov.

Evghenia Guțul stated that the Victory bloc will nominate its single candidate for the 2024 Moldovan presidential election. Guțul herself refused to run for president, stating that she is not of the right age, since one must be 40 years old to run. The bloc's likely goal in the presidential election could also be to gain enough votes to negotiate a political majority with the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM) and oust the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) from power.

On 9 May 2024, the bloc's leaders took part in a march on the anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany. The PSRM, which organized the demonstration, forbade the bloc's leaders from joining their column.

On 9 June 2024, the second congress of the Victory bloc leaders was held in Moscow. At this congress, the bloc's participation in the presidential election and the European Union membership referendum was discussed. Ilan Shor said he is confident that the Victory bloc will be able to defeat Moldovan President Maia Sandu in the presidential election and will "use any necessary methods" to achieve this goal and free Moldova from the "pro-European bandits". Shor said that the only way to "revive Moldova" is for Moldova to join the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The leader of the parliamentary group of the Victory bloc, Vasile Bolea, said that the bloc would resist Moldova's turning away from Russia. Evghenia Guțul said that the Victory bloc held its congress in Russia because the Moldovan government was threatening Moldovan oppositionists, and said that Moldova would be drawn into the war in Ukraine if Moldovans voted to join the EU. A few days before the bloc's congress, its leaders took part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which took place from 5 to 8 June 2024, and discussed the political situation in Moldova with Russian politicians such as Sergey Lavrov, Nikolai Valuev, Yevgeny Primakov Jr., Rustam Minnikhanov, Alexander Beglov and Margarita Simonyan.

Criticism
The Ministrer of Infrastructure and Regional Development of Moldova, Andrei Spînu, responded to the creation of the bloc by calling the new association an organized criminal bloc on his Internet page, and its founders "traitors to the nation". Spînu said that the bloc was created near the Kremlin "so that it would be clear who they work for and who they serve".

Igor Munteanu, the leader of the pro-European extra-parliamentary opposition Coalition for Unity and Welfare (CUB), said that the emergence of a new bloc in Moscow means that plans to destabilize Moldova are entering the implementation phase.