Russia’s Matryoshka disinfo network targets Moldova, bots accuse President Maia Sandu of corruption and repression

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The Russian disinformation network Matryoshka has launched its first large-scale campaign aimed at Moldova. Videos mimicking the style of global media outlets or academic institutions have begun circulating on platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky, according to the Bot Blocker project (@antibot4navalny), which shared its findings with The Insider. These videos allege that Moldovan President Maia Sandu’s victory in the November 2024 election was achieved thanks to her campaign’s propaganda efforts, and that since winning reelection she has engaged in the repression of her political opponents.

One video, which purports to have been produced by the French government’s anti-disinformation agency VIGINUM, is being shared on Twitter with the caption: “VIGINUM has prepared a multi-level study of the pro-Sandu propaganda phenomenon on TikTok.” The clip claims that $1 million per day was spent on producing and promoting pro-Sandu disinformation videos.

In another French-language video — disguised as a lecture by a professor from a French university and captioned with the line “The French professor claims that Maia Sandu is involved in corruption and controls a corrupt Moldovan parliament” — Sandu is accused of carrying out a campaign of political repression against former Gagauzia governor Evghenia Guțul, who was indeed arrested in late March. Guțul was detained on suspicion of voter bribery and illegal financing of the pro-Kremlin Șor (Shor) Party. After her arrest, Guțul appealed directly to Vladimir Putin, asking him to pressure the Moldovan authorities in an effort to secure her release.

Several of the videos also mention Veronica Dragalin, the former head of Moldova’s Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, who resigned voluntarily in February of this year. One fabricated video falsely claims that Dragalin pledged to send evidence to 300 European media outlets alleging that Maia Sandu accepted bribes and won the presidential election through fraud. Dragalin has not yet commented on these claims. She said her resignation was due to her opposition to a draft law proposing the merger of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office with the Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases into a new unified structure, which she described as a “threat to justice.” Dragalin is also featured on a fake La Tribune magazine cover being circulated by the Matryoshka network.

Aside from accusations of corruption and pressure on political opponents, the videos featuring “university professors” include standard Kremlin propaganda narratives. One claims that President Sandu is a member of the LGBTQ community and that under her leadership, “non-traditional values” in Moldova will inevitably displace “traditional” ones. Another video alleges that Sandu plans to follow “Ukraine’s example” by seeking control over the Orthodox Church — specifically, by transferring the Chișinău Diocese from the Russian Orthodox Church to its Romanian counterpart. According to the video’s creators, this would be a step toward the full unification of Moldova with Romania.

A total of ten videos have been released so far — four disguised as content from major media outlets and six as faux academic lectures — along with one fake magazine cover. According to the Bot Blocker project, only one previous fake video about Moldova linked to the Matryoshka network had been identified. That video, circulated in June 2024 in Romanian, was styled as a public service announcement supposedly shown in online cinemas. It promoted tolerance toward people with disabilities and LGBTQ individuals, with the intended effect of frightening viewers and turning them against “European” values.

Despite the Kremlin’s disinformation efforts, Sandu won the presidential election last November with 55.35% in the second round of voting. But that’s not the end of the story. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for September 2025, and Alexandru Musteață, head of Moldova’s Information and Security Service (SIS), has already warned that Russia may attempt to interfere in them.

“Their strategy was, is, and will continue in 2025 to be the infiltration of the political environment by individuals and entities affiliated with or covertly backed by the Russian Federation, with the aim of gaining control over Parliament and, consequently, other state institutions. This strategy relies on political and electoral corruption, disinformation and manipulation, as well as street actions and disorder,” Musteață said at a government meeting on Dec. 12 last year.

The Insider has obtained links to the original tweets, as well as evidence provided by the Bot Blocker project confirming that the accounts that posted the content are part of the Matryoshka network. The Insider does not publish direct links to disinformation content in order to prevent its further spread.