THE KREMLIN spent tens of millions of dollars trying to subvert the elections held on September 28th in Moldova, a republic of 2.4m people squeezed between Ukraine and Romania. Russia-friendly opposition parties promised cheap Russian gas; they stoked fears that NATO would drag the small, poor country into a war with the country that long ruled it, or that the European Union would force it to recognise same-sex marriages. But in the end, the fear of being subjugated to Russia and of losing European support won Moldova’s ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), led by president Maia Sandu, a slim majority in parliament.