The effects of Russian influence in mass-media on the process of Moldovan Europeanisation 2017-2022

Abstract

The Republic of Moldova is an Eastern European state with a complex post-soviet legacy and developing European prospectives. This thesis investigates the evolution of Russian soft power in the televised informative programmes from the Republic of Moldova and its effects over the Moldovan Europeanisation process. The theoretical background is set by the connections among soft power, media influence and information. The empirical analysis looks into the most popular news TV channels and the legislation of the audiovisual services in the Republic of Moldova. Using four indicators, the thesis analyses the Russian influence by drawing the connections between the (foreign) owners of the TV channels and the broadcasted content. In order to assess the Europeanisation process, the thesis examines the political context in which the European audiovisual regulations were transposed in the Moldovan legislation. The results prove that more than half of the analysed channels share pro-Russian narratives, but their effects over the public opinion decreased until the end of 2022, due to the mechanisms and normative acts implemented by the pro-European political actors and the civil society with the help of the European institutions.