Russian pressure and economic leverage pulled Moldova away from Romanian reunification.

Evidence

After Moldova became independent with the collapse of the Soviet Union, many looked forward to its eventual reintegration with Romania. The fear that this would happen, in turn, stimulated a secessionist movement in the Russified east, which had the tacit support of Moscow and the active support of the Russian 14th Army and led to the creation of the Trans-Dniester Republic. Moldovan sentiment for union with Romania, however, declined in response to the economic problems of both countries and Russian economic pressure. Moldova joined the CIS and trade with Russia expanded. In February 1994 pro-Russian parties were overwhelmingly successful in the parliamentary elections. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 447

Categorization

• QUESTION: The pro-Russian drift of Moldova and Belarus in the 1990s — how did these dynamics later invert or persist given these states remained outside NATO?
• XREF: Trans-Dniester separatist pattern parallels Abkhazia and other frozen conflicts Russia uses as leverage.