Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service.
This is the fifth floor at the heart of global storytelling with BBC journalists from all around the world.
I'm your host, Farnak Amidi.
Let me take you to Moldova.
Moldova is a landlocked country sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania.
It's one of Europe's poorest countries and it gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
In September this year, Moldovans will vote for their new government.
like other ex-Soviet countries, Georgia, for example,
Moldova is torn between pro-Western and pro-Russian factions,
and pro-European politicians and observers are worried that Russia will be trying to influence the outcome of these upcoming elections.
Why does Moldova matter to Vladimir Putin,
and what will the election results mean for the region?
Natasha Matuhina from BBC Monitoring is here to tell us more.
Natasha, welcome to the 5th floor.
Hello.
Thank you for having me.
So Anastasia, tell us more about Moldova, who's in power at the moment,
and what is going on in the political scene of the country right now?
Farunek, you were right to say that Moldova is located between Romania, an EU,
a NATO country, and Ukraine,