The government of Moldova has announced its resignation after eighteen turbulent months. That happened on Friday through Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița, Reuters news agency reports. Skyrocketing inflation, problems with the energy supply and subsequent social unrest became too much for the Moldovan government. “I believe in the Moldovan people and in Moldova,” said Gavrilița. “I am convinced that we will get through this alone.”
The war in neighboring Ukraine has hurt the former Soviet country with a population of 2.5 million on several fronts. The Moldovans are also struggling with serious currency depreciation: for them, goods have been average over the past year about 30 percent more expensive become. Moldova was completely dependent on imports from Russia and Ukraine for its energy supply. Both countries have not proved to be a consistent supplier in the past year.
Russia punished Moldova for approaching Western countries for financial support to move away from Russian gas. In October, the Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom cut off supplies. Because Moldova’s electricity network is largely connected to that of Ukraine, it was also directly affected by the Russian attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure.