![A woman walks by electoral posters in Chisinau, Moldova, Oct. 27, 2016 (AP photo by Roveliu Buga).](https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/l_moldova_11082016_1.jpg?w=519&h=259&crop=1)
CHISINAU, Moldova—Most headlines about Moldova would have you believe this former Soviet republic of 3.5 million people is torn between East and West, the impoverished victim of a battle for influence on the European Union’s doorstep that pits Brussels against Moscow. To be sure, geopolitics is a major part of the picture. The two candidates in the ongoing presidential election here prove it: Igor Dodon, a pro-Russian socialist, says he wants to see Moldova’s hard-fought Association Agreement with the EU torn up, while Harvard-trained economist Maia Sandu pledges to support the country’s pro-European course. Since neither secured a majority in […]