In this special edition of Talk Eastern Europe, Alexandra reports in-person from Romania for a deep dive into the recent presidential elections. She speaks with experts Laura Stefan, Diana Filimon, and Vlad Barleanu about what happened in these dramatic elections, the allegations of digital interference from Russia, how the public responded, and what it all means for Romanian democracy.

Commentary by:

Laura Stefan, Founder and the Rule of Law and Anticorruption Coordinator for ExpertForum
Diana Filimon, Founder and President of Forum Apulum, Founder of Gen, știri
Vlad Barleanu, former journalist and current PR specialist

To watch the full-length interviews and other behind-the-scene clips, you can check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope

Research for this podcast episode was made possible with the support of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Washington, DC’s Transatlantic Media Fellowship. Find out more about the Fellowship, and the Foundation’s work, here: https://us.boell.org/en/2025/05/22/2025-cohort-transatlantic-media-fellows

Finally, thank you to Patrícia Raposo, Young European Ambassador for the EU Neighbours East and Policy Trainee at the Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs, for her assistance in the research process.

Episode 225: Live from Bucharest: Romanian democracy is being pushed to its limits