The behavior and political choices of the elites proved to be fateful in any period of human evolution, but this argument is especially important in the times of transition from one system to another. The case of the former Soviet republics is suggestive in this regard if taking into consideration the successful models of transition (the Baltic States) and the rest of the post-Soviet states which met difficulties in the process. One of the most important aspects which made the difference in this sense was the ability of the political elites to adapt to new context created by the dissolution of the Soviet Union and to lead their states in the labyrinth of transition. The present article tries to analyze the transition of the Moldovan elites from the Soviet times of indigenization to the post-Independence realities as well as the impact of the elite metamorphosis on the evolution of the Republic of Moldova after 1991.