Putin’s Moldovan Invasion v. Dynasty’s Moldavian Massacre
by Bob Schwartz
A cliffhanger is a cliffhanger. Russia may be about to invade its neighbor Moldova, based on troop buildup along the border. Almost thirty years ago, on May 15, 1985, the ABC series Dynasty ended Season 5 by leaving the world hanging, as terrorists invaded and shot up the royal wedding of Prince Michael of Moldavia and Amanda Carrington.
(Note: To clarify the Moldavia/Moldova confusion. Moldavia is a traditional region that now straddles the nations of Romania and Moldova. The language of Moldova is Romanian, and the Romanian name for Moldavia is Moldova. The producers of Dynasty may or may not have been aware of this, or that Moldova was at the time a part of the Soviet empire, or much else geographic. Dynasty was not a documentary or reality series. “Prince Michael of Moldavia” just sounded so cool and romantic, as was the fake country.)
Who would survive this now infamous Moldavian Massacre (you can watch it here)? Viewers of Dynasty, then #1 in the ratings, would have to wait all summer to find out. Meanwhile, that season-ending episode reportedly attracted 60 million viewers.
Will Putin invade Moldova, claiming that just as with Crimea, Moldovans are pleading to join up with their Russian friend and neighbor (and former ruler)? How will the world respond? How will Putin respond to that? That’s a real cliffhanger. And even though Putin seems to be playing a part in a costume epic, in which he is the royal hero, a sort of Putin’s Dynasty, this is no television series. Perhaps Czar Vladimir of Russia will wake up and see that.
Bob Schwartz 
Doubt it, he’s got too much insecurity. The word of the day is overcompensate.
Putin could have Transdnistria if he wanted it – Moldova and the international community would be in much less of an uproar over that than over Crimea. Will he do it? I doubt it. Taking Crimea was a flexing of muscles. It was a message to Kiev and Ukraine – Russia has nothing to prove by taking Transdnistria, and I highly doubt they would dare move into Moldova proper with Moldova’s ties to NATO member Romania.
One big question is whether this is grand improvisation or grand strategy on Putin’s part. If he is improvising, countering it is in some ways harder. It may be straightforward for a thoughtful and capable player to turn back one who is making it up as he goes along. But the improviser, particularly a strong one, can cause plenty of disruption and damage before he goes down. If Putin does have a strategy, or at least a string of tactics that look like strategy, you may be right about the muscle flexing. But from here, it seems he wants to take bites out of Europe — big ones if he can, but little ones if that’s all that the moment allows.
the fool is especially dangerous who believes himself to be a hero (in his or her own mind).
if, in this case, putin, the fool, will soon be standing before the world with his naked psyche.
the danger may be minimized if all simply wait, patiently and nonviolently, for his fate to play out.
what, exactly, will putin have won?
Thanks for an endorsement of appropriate patience and nonviolence. What does get minimized is the possibility of ill-conceived and inneffective confronation. As for minimizing damage, that’s the tougher one. What’s really gained by patience is the opportunity for deep (really deep, self-aware, honest) consideration of one’s own motives, principles, stakes and strategies, followed by action. How much of that sort of consideration is going on, especially the self-aware and candid part, is anybody’s guess. We hope for the best.