The PSRM was founded in 1997 by members of the Socialist Party of Moldova. The founding congress took place on 29 June 1997 in Chișinău. Veronica Abramciuc and Eduard Smirnov were elected as co-chairmen of the new party.[12]
Reflecting the country's strong social conservatism,[10] the party promotes family values and opposes LGBT rights in Moldova, which is in contrast to left-leaning parties in Europe.[9] In 2016, the party organized the Family Festival/March to counter-protest the "Without Fear" March organized by GENDERDOC-M in Chișinău.[22] Some Moldovan and Romanian journalists also described the party as authoritarian.[23] Critics also claim that the PSRM-affiliated media promotes fake news and pro-Russian propaganda.[24][25]
In 2015, Igor Dodon stated that he wanted the PSRM to join the Socialist International.[26][27] In April 2021 the party submitted a request to join the organisation.[28]
The PSRM participated in the Moldovan parliamentary elections in 1998 and 2001 without success. In the 2005 Moldovan parliamentary election, the party contested as part of the Electoral Bloc Motherland and received 4.97% votes, which was not sufficient to enter parliament as it did not pass the electoral threshold of 6.0%. At the April–July 2009 and the 2010 parliamentary elections, it supported the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM). Its leader Veronica Abramciuc was included on the PCRM candidates list.[34]
^Socor, Vladimir (2 July 2020). "Igor Dodon, Moldova's Strawman Dictator (Part One)". Jamestown. Jamestown Foundation. Moldova's russophile head of state, Igor Dodon, has been driven onto the defensive, along with his Socialist Party and the Socialist-led government, by their political opponents on several fronts. Opposition forces, acting separately for the time being and from different motivations (pro-Western, 'oligarchic,' pro-Romania) seek to remove Dodon and his government from office before presidential and parliamentary elections are held.
^ abSocor, Vladimir (2 July 2020). "Igor Dodon, Moldova's Strawman Dictator (Part Two)". Jamestown. Jamestown Foundation. The Socialist Party is a clear liability to President Dodon on the international stage. Notwithstanding his party's mass social base and high electoral scores, which most European Socialists today could only envy, the Moldovan party is completely isolated from Europe's Socialist parties. The reason behind this is the Moldovan Socialists' embrace of conservative-sounding tenets on religious and gender issues, synchronized with the 'conservative' values mimicked by Russia's current authorities. Since Europe's Socialist parties have moved in the opposite direction on that agenda, they keep Moldova's Socialist Party at arm's length. Nor can Dodon's party communicate with Russia-friendly European parties of the right, because those would abhor the Moldovan party's Red trappings.