 In 2011 he was a candidate to State Duma of Russia but lost the elections.On 16 May 2012 the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia decided to hand over to him a deputy mandate that became available after Aleksey Ostrovskiy received his position of Smolensk Oblast governor.On 2 February 2014, Gagauzia held a referendum where an overwhelming majority of voters opted for closer ties with Russia over EU integration and also opted for the independence of Gagauzia if Moldova chooses to enter EU.