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Andrei Iovu is a Fellow for MEI’s Frontier Europe Initiative, with a focus on the breakaway territories of the Black Sea region. He works as an attorney-at-law and is a member of the Bar Association of the Republic of Moldova. He holds a PhD in Constitutional Law from the Moldova State University and a Master’s from University College of London.
Andrei previously worked for the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, UNDP Moldova, and was a researcher at the Institute for Public Policy in the Republic of Moldova. Andrei works closely with government institutions, civil society, and international organizations on matters related to policy development and democratization.
Russkyi Mir is an ideological construct and foreign policy concept defined in the first mandate of President Vladimir Putin. While not regulated through legislation or policy, the concept is popular among Russian political thinkers and ideologists as a way to shape Russia’s relationship with the world. It is also often referred to in speeches by the president, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, and other key figures.
The role of the West in countering Russian Passportization in the Black Sea
‘Passportization’ has been a longstanding policy of Russia as it seeks to maintain control over former Soviet countries. The policy is a functional ideological mechanism that has served as a complementary argument to Russia’s military interventions in the Black Sea region and influence in domestic affairs of post-Soviet countries. In recent years, the consequences of passportization have been felt in the Baltic States, as well as break-away territories of the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. It also preceded the annexation of Crimea and anticipated the breakaway of Eastern Ukraine.
