Often referred to as the "poorhouse of Europe", Moldova is only slightly larger than Baden-Württemberg at around 33,800 km2. Nevertheless, this small republic between Romania and Ukraine got caught up in the whirlwind of Russia's war of aggression against its neighbor. So much so that fears are growing that Moldova could become Russia's President Putin's next target.

In 1991, the Eastern European country became independent from the Soviet Union. Moldova remains politically unstable to this day. In 2021 it ranked 69th in the Democracy Index – an incomplete democracy; a "captured state" with corruption and oligarchs that is trying to join the European Union. Moldova has been a candidate country since 2022.

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