Turkish Influence in Gagauzia a Threat to Russia

A Russian analyst has published a report claiming that Turkey's growing influence amongst the Gagauz, an Orthodox Christian minority concentrated in Moldova and the southwestern Ukraine, is a threat to Russian influence within the former USSR. In recent years the Gagauz have switched from using the Cyrillic alphabet to the form of the Latin alphabet used by modern Turkish and growing numbers of Gagauz from the autonomous Gagauz state in Moldova have moved to Turkey for advanced studies. More here.

Pictured is a map of the region of Gagauzia in the former Soviet republic of Moldova.