Moldova Battles For Soul Of Pro-Russian Gagauzia

Language teacher Sorina Stoianova has found herself at the forefront of Moldova's efforts to counter Russian influence in its rebel Gagauzia region, which borders Ukraine.

Already threatened by pro-Russian separatists in breakaway Transnistria -- which last month appealed to Moscow for "protection" -- Moldova's pro-EU government is trying to reach out to Gagauzians in the south with free classes in Romanian, the country's official language.

The tiny Turkic minority, who are Orthodox Christians, briefly declared themselves independent after the fall of communism.

Although their native language is close to Turkish, most of the 135,000 Gagauz now speak Russian.

And the governor of their autonomous region makes no bones about her ties to Moscow.

Last week Yevgenia Gutsul travelled to Russia to ask President Vladimir Putin for his "support" in the face of alleged "destabilisation by the Moldovan authorities".

In such a battle for hearts and minds, Moldova believes helping people learn Romanian is key to countering Russian-language "propaganda".

"They (the Gagauz) want to learn the language," Stoianova told AFP as she wrapped up the day's lesson for about 20 adults in the town of Vulcanesti.

Some 13,000 people applied for the 5,000 places on the free courses this year, up from 6,500 last year.

Gagauzia had the highest number of applicants after the capital Chisinau.

One of Stoianova's students, Ivan Gaidarji, said the classes were needed as the former Soviet republic looks to join the EU.

Brussels agreed late last year to open membership talks with the nation of 2.6 million people that lies between EU member Romania and war-torn Ukraine.

"We must study to perfect our knowledge and be able to continue working," the 46-year-old civil servant told AFP.

Another student wanted to be able to help her grandchildren with their homework, according to Stoianova.

Unlike the self-proclaimed republic of Transnistria, Gagauzia renounced its hopes for independence in 1994 in exchange for being autonomous.

But its Soviet legacy is omnipresent, with statues of Lenin and hammer and sickle emblems still dotting the region.

Moldova's President Maia Sandu "is making real efforts to improve relations with Gagauzia, to win the hearts and minds of its people", according Wilder Alejandro Sanchez, a Moldovan expert at the Washington-based Second Floor Strategies.

Besides the language classes, the government is also upping investment in the region, including a new road to connect Chisinau with southern Moldova, including Gagauzia.

But he told AFP it would "take years and years, maybe decades, to change the beliefs of the population" and convince them that "efforts to join the EU will not destroy their identity".

Moldovan authorities have repeatedly accused Russia of trying to destabilise the country.

An intelligence services report recently warned of "anti-Chisinau and anti-Brussels rhetoric" in the run-up to the presidential election and a referendum on EU accession later this year.

Some 98 percent of Gagauz voted to join the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan customs union and said "no" to joining the EU in two local plebiscites in 2014 that were declared unconstitutional.

A decade on, Chisinau hopes mentalities are changing.

"We are working with the young people," Sandu said last year, adding the population "has been listening too much to Russian propaganda".

"We need to better protect people from the propaganda and from the disinformation," she added.