In the towns and villages of ten districts of the Republic of Moldova, located along the Dniester River, the presence of the most aggressive Russian propaganda television channels is orchestrated directly from Tiraspol. Over 850,000 people are bombarded by 10 TV channels — a mix of local Transnistrian and Russian stations — where the most fervent supporters of Russia’s war in Ukraine justify its importance 24/7. Most antennas in the villages of the Security Zone point toward Tiraspol, a clear sign that locals are almost constantly connected to the information fed by the separatist regime, despite the ban imposed by Chișinău. Meanwhile, Ukrainian TV channels, whose signals also reached the right bank of the Dniester, have been blocked by Tiraspol. No central authority in the Republic of Moldova has claimed responsibility for addressing this situation — nor have they demonstrated a clear intention to stop the Transnistrian brainwashing machine. In April 2023, just a few months before the elections for the governor (bashkan) of Gagauzia, Anticoruptie.md revealed a scheme through which a cable operator was massively broadcasting propaganda channels. The “truth” coming from the TV screens helped secure the victory of a candidate backed by Ilan Shor. Now, the same scenario is unfolding in the eastern districts of the Republic of Moldova, right under the nose of the constitutional authorities, once again on the eve of a decisive election.

10 DISTRICTS – 450 LOCALITIES – 850,000 PEOPLE

The Russian and Transnistrian TV channels, broadcast from antennas installed at three points on the left bank of the Dniester — Slobozia, Tiraspol, and Bender — are received, without exception, in all ten districts bordering the separatist region. These districts include Soroca, Florești, Șoldănești, Rezina, Orhei, Criuleni, Anenii Noi, Căușeni, Dubăsari, and Ștefan Vodă.

In numbers, this means that these channels can be — and are — watched by approximately 850,000 people living in 430 localities. According to the latest census by the National Bureau of Statistics, this accounts for 34% of the entire population of the Republic of Moldova.

TOWARD HAGIMUS, THROUGH TWO CHECKPOINTS + A FINE

We decided to go to the village of Hagimus, in the Căușeni district, to see with our own eyes how a simple antenna brings Russian propaganda into people’s homes, by shortcut, that is, through the separatist Transnistrian region.

At the so-called customs post in Tighina, a separatist soldier told us to pull the car over to the right. We complied. Later, under the pretext that the car insurance (RCA) was not in physical format but on the phone—a perfectly legal option in the territory controlled by the authorities in Chișinău—a discussion began, with many undertones, about the consequences of this “violation.” We tried to explain that this requirement was illegal, but the soldier asked us to follow him into a room with a “white door,” where we were told we had to pay a fine of 200 lei.

The militiaman warned us that if we didn’t want to pay the supposed fine, we would have to turn back and make a long detour to reach Hagimus. After paying for the so-called infraction, we asked for a receipt. We were told the receipt was already “entered into the system.”

Along the short road from Tighina to Hagimus, through Tighina, we noticed a deserted city, with many abandoned buildings and bleak scenes of a world seemingly frozen in the last century. At the checkpoint on the way out, a huge line of cars was waiting to exit the Transnistrian region toward constitutionally controlled Moldova.

RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA CHANNELS, RECEIVED FROM TIRASPOL, WITH… A FORK

In the village of Hagimus, Căușeni district, located less than one kilometer from the Transnistrian region, there is no house without a television antenna on the roof.

This is no coincidence, because only this way can locals watch, for free, heavy propaganda channels from the Russian Federation, such as NTV, TNT, Rossiya 1, ORT, STV—and not even the constitutional authorities intervene. All these antennas, without exception, are pointed toward Tiraspol, because the signal is better that way. The signal is so strong that it even reaches neighboring districts. For example, residents of the town of Căinari, located 51 km from Tiraspol, “enjoy” the fake news spewed from Moscow’s mouthpieces, right from their TVs.

We arrived at the Danilescu family’s house in Hagimus, Căușeni, on a Saturday, exactly at noon, just as the news bulletin on Rossiya 1 was beginning—broadcast every hour on the hour, without interruption, even on weekends, because Russian propaganda never rests.

The so-called news started with a report from the frontline where Ukrainian drones, launched by Kyiv into Russia, were presented by the reporter as “enemy drones.”

“A drone with four engines was carrying kilograms of explosives. Ruslan Bikbulatov, on the fight against enemy drones. After the bombings, such craters are formed from the explosions. Look, here it still smolders, what remains of this building. From the border area in Kursk, Stanislav Nazarov, from the front line. Reports from our war correspondents.”

In the same bulletin, in the report about Vladimir Putin’s meeting with Donald Trump in the USA, the state of Alaska was presented by Rossiya 1 as “Russian territory, which once belonged to the empire.”

Serghei Danilescu explains how Tiraspol defies the law by intoxicating the right bank with propaganda channels deliberately pushed at consumers here. According to him, it is enough to stick a fork into the base of the television—such is the strength of the signal—to watch a minimum of channels. Locals who install more sophisticated antennas or specialized devices can receive up to 40 Russian and Transnistrian channels.

Serghei also says that not all villagers can afford a monthly subscription to a cable TV operator, and the separatists immediately reoriented themselves and offered an “alternative.” Absolutely free, but dangerous for the country’s security. The man recounts how thoroughly brainwashed his relatives in Tighina have become, to the point where their ability to think logically has been completely erased.

VICTORIA AND SERGHEI DANILESCU, residents of Hagimus village, Căușeni district

“If you stick an aluminum fork into the base of the TV, you’ll get four or five direct local channels: PMR, Pervyi Kanal, Bender – BTV, and CTC, with a strong signal. It’s just a simple cable, no antenna, nothing. You just throw the cable out the window and you’ll get five channels for free. That’s how strong the signal is from there. If you make a little more effort and buy a tuner, T2 or T4, then you’ll have 40 channels from the Transnistrian area.

We use Moldtelecom, but we are very interested in combating their information and making the distinction. We are prepared—we can filter, compare the information that reaches us. But a large part of the citizens, especially the middle-aged and elderly, are indifferent toward Moldovan TV. At the moment there are 22 channels, of which 8 are purely propaganda. Local Transnistrian production accounts for about four channels. If you pass through our villages, Chircăiești, Hagimus, you’ll see many houses with decimeter antennas pointed toward Bender or Slobozia.

We are forced to pay 220 lei just to have Moldovan information on our TV at home. People can’t really afford to pay 3,000 lei a year just to watch television. In Bender, I have cousins—my first cousin was born in Reni, where I’m from too. In Reni and Izmail they’re bombarded almost every night there by the Russians with drones. My aunt has a daughter in Odesa. The daughter tells her mother: ‘Mom, the Ukrainians are right, the Russians are the bad ones.’ But she says, ‘No, the Ukrainians attacked Russia.’ That’s what Russian TV influence means.”

On the house of another Hagimus resident stands an antenna that is as original as it is dangerous for those vulnerable to propaganda. Vasile Iepure made it out of two German car license plates to catch Russian channels.

The man says he watches them occasionally, out of interest, to see how Moscow twists the truth.

VASILE IEPURE, resident of Hagimus, Căușeni district

“Now that antenna doesn’t work, but it used to. Maybe a cable broke somewhere. I don’t watch them. They tell lies—what, am I a little child? Can’t I see what they do, the nonsense they say? Clearly it’s brainwashing. What, I don’t see it? Even close friends, I see they don’t think straight. Just at the market, how many arguments I’ve had with Slavic. They should jam those channels, not allow them to broadcast.”

UKRAINIAN TV CHANNELS, BLOCKED BY TIRASPOL, FOR BOTH BANKS OF THE DNIESTER

The peak of Transnistrian propaganda, both in the Security Zone and on the left bank, is the blocking of Ukrainian TV stations. In short, the Russian Federation was chosen to be the main source of information for the indoctrinated region, but also for those on the right bank. Locals say this was done intentionally, because the truth from the Ukrainians is obvious, and out of fear that a seed of doubt might grow about Moscow’s narrative, they shut them down.

VICTORIA AND SERGHEI DANILESCU, residents of Hagimus, Căușeni district

“The Ukrainian channels are officially present in the receiver, but they don’t show up. They are blocked. These are Ukrainian channels: Novyi Kanal, 2+2, TET, 1+1, Ukraina—they don’t show them because the information there would destroy Russia’s fake news.”

“IF YOU TELL A MAN A HUNDRED TIMES HE’S CRAZY, HE BEGINS TO BELIEVE IT”

Other locals in Căușeni believe that propaganda transmitted by Russian TV, broadcast from the Transnistrian region onto the right bank, negatively affects people’s thinking in the Security Zone.

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