Does Russia have a stronger influence in Moldova than Romania?

You see, Moldova is, well, Moldova plus Transnistria which is an "independent", altough unrecognized, republic, with a Russian army, a remnant from the 1992 war. Russia cannot accept losing Transnistria and Moldova has no de facto control over it, but is still a part of Moldova somehow. read more

Russia is a foreign country which invests a lot power and has trained personnel of influence to a much higher extent than Romania: one may say it is professional. But Moldova is a part of Romania, since ever, so the influence of Romania is natural, cultural and spiritual. read more

Moldova has no common borders with Russia, only with Ukraine, although it has a sizeable Russian speaking minority, and Transnistria is entirely Russian speaking. Romanians tend to consider Moldovans as Romanians, and grant them Romanian passports rather easily. read more

Russia's Influence. Russia holds a great deal of economic weight with Moldova. Russia was the destination of 26 percent of Moldova's exports and the source of 15 percent of its imports in 2010. It is a major market for Moldovan wine, the country's main export, and has cut off imports of the wine in the past for political reasons. read more